


Ride

by cashmerekats



Category: Free!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bikers, But I will warn before each chapter to let you know, I promise, Like EXPLICITLY, M/M, This story has some triggering content but I'm not gonna tag so as to spoil, You won't miss it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-11
Updated: 2016-02-08
Packaged: 2018-03-01 02:11:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 21
Words: 46,835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2755682
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cashmerekats/pseuds/cashmerekats
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Haruka Nanase lives a boring life, working at an average diner, in the middle of nowhere.</p><p>Almost content with complacency, somebody Haruka Nanase never expected to see again rides back into his life, bringing with him the promise of love and life on the edge.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Revving

Haruka Nanase stood in the _Golden Touch Diner_ , sucking a lollipop. He lazily scanned the restaurant barely even flinching at the scarcity of customers. It wasn’t  unusual for there not to be many customers, not in this sleepy town. 

Ring-riiiiiiiing.

The trill of a bell snapped Haruka out of his lull, and he turned around to the diner’s kitchen window. Makoto Tachibana smiled at him handing him a greasy looking burger. “Here you go, Haruka. Table 6.”

Haruka rolled his eyes, smacking his lips and taking the lollipop out of his mouth. Giving Makoto a slight smile, a smile only Makoto could elicit, Haruka said, “I know, Makoto.”

Haruka walked the plate to the table, placing it carefully on the table. He nodded at the customer, an older man with a thick beard. The man mumbled some sort of thanks, and Haruka walked away, back behind the diner counter. 

Reaching under the counter, he pulled out a  counter cleaner and began cleaning the counter top. Didn’t matter. The coffee stains and scuffs that adorned the counter were older than he was, and weren’t going away. 

"Slow day, huh Haru?" Makoto asked lightly.

"Mm," Haruka said.

"The better for us though," Makoto chuckled. 

"Yes," Haruka said, bluntly.

Makoto chuckled again and began whistling, food sizzling against the grill. Most people who saw Haruka and Makoto’s friendship didn’t understand it. Haruka seemed aloof and Makoto didn’t seem to notice. However, the two had known each other for a very long time, growing up together. They were best friends, and absolutely inseparable. And when they had grown up, Makoto and him had gotten jobs at the old diner.

Today was one of Haruka’s favorite kind of days. Just him and Makoto, without their loud, over-bearing boss. Just a ‘slow day,’ as Makoto called it.

Their boss was a real jerk. He was a seedy looking guy who shouted alot and smelled of alcohol. Last time he was there, he chewed Haruka out in front of all the customers, because Haruka hadn't put enough cheese in a custom order. Another time he chewed out Makoto for not working fast enough, which lead to Makoto burning himself. Another time, he yelled at one of the waitresses for something she didn't do, and when she began crying, he fired her on the spot. But even though the boss was a total jerk, the pay was good, and it helped pay off the apartment Makoto and Haruka shared.

The two were unschooled, only completing high school. They actually got these jobs because they were saving up to leave this dusty town, and move to the city, maybe even finish schooling. 

However, it was really hard. Haruka was often discouraged and would be about to settle for this boring life in this boring town, but Makoto's drive and determination always steered Haruka back on track. It was still boring, but then again, everything was to Haruka nowadays.

As Haruka thought of his drab existence, he was suddenly alerted by the loud revving of motorcycles outside of the diner. Three bikes parked outside the restaurant, humming to a stop.

Three figures entered the bar, commanding attention from all the diner patrons. Two redheads, a boy and girl, and a very slight boy with silver hair. The silver haired boy had big wide eyes, that darted around the diner, and a beauty mark underneath one of them. The girl had her long red hair pulled back into a ponytail, and her sharp eyes were made even sharper by her expertly applied eyeliner. The redhead boy had sharp eyes, Haruka thinking that they were siblings, and a leather jacket on. He looked at Haruka and squinted before smirking.

Haruka had a strange feeling in his stomach, and Makoto called from behind him, “Hello, and welcome to Golden Touch!”

The redhead boy nodded and gestured around, “We can sit anywhere?”

Haruka felt like somebody hit him in the chest. He did know who this guy was. He was always with…Does he recognize me?

"Haruka can you go check on the customers?"

Looking back, he nodded. “Y-Yes.”

Makoto tilted his head, curious. “Haru, are you okay?”

Nodding, Haruka brushed off his apron and walked over to the table where the three bikers sat, flipping through menus. Haruka inhaled, and said, “Welcome to Golden Touch. What can I get you?”

The redhead looked at him, looking him up and down. He smirked again, and said, “Yeah. Three chocolate shakes, and three burgers. Hold the mayo on one.”

Haruka wrote it all down, and nodded, hurrying off. After giving Makoto the order, he turned back to see the three whispering to each other, sneaking looks at Haruka.

After what seemed like the longest hour of his life, the three finally left, but Haruka couldn't help but think that the redhead had looked back at him. Motors screeched, piercing the air, bikes practically flying out of the parking lot. Haruka’s heart raced, as the bikes disappeared in the distance. Haruka looked down, noticing his hands shaking. Clutching them to the side.

As the last of the diner’s patrons petered out, Haruka and Makoto began to clean up. Haruka could hear Makoto scraping the grill, cleaning it of the grease, and Haruka lost himself in mopping the floor. Afterwards, Haruka took the money out of the cash register, and brought it to his boss’ office, placing it in the large safe.

As he came out, he noticed Makoto still slaving away in the kitchen. Sighing, Haruka rolled up his sleeves, ready to help Makoto. The two of them working together, they finished the dishes and kitchen rather quickly.

Finally finishing, the two closed up the diner, and headed out.

The two stood in the parking lot, at Makoto’s car. Just as the two were getting into Makoto’s car, a lone motorcycle pulled up to the diner. Sitting on it, a tall, broad brunet, with bored looking grey eyes. Makoto got out, waving his hands dismissively, saying, “Sir, I’m sorry, but we’re closed.”

The brunet just sat on the motorcycle, looking at Haruka. Haruka swallowed nervously, eyes flitting towards the ground. The brunet finally acknowledged Makoto, saying with a deep voice, “Oh, my bad. Maybe I’ll just come back tomorrow.”

Makoto nodded, and said, “Sure. Yeah, come by tomorrow.”

Nodding to Makoto, the brunet revved his engines, and cast one last look at Haruka, before driving off.

Makoto turned back to Haruka, scratching his head, “That was a little weird.”

Haruka watched the motorcycle’s lights fade off into the distance, before nodding, and breathily saying, “Yeah, l-let’s go Mako.”

Squinting, Makoto asked, “Haruka, are you okay?”

Blinking his eyes, Haruka said, “Yeah, yeah. Just tired.”

As Makoto drove his car, humming along to the radio, Haruka held his shaky fists in his lap. All he wanted to do was scream and cry and punch something all at the same time. One year, one long year, filled with broken promises and a broken heart.

Haruka looked down, his raven bangs falling into his face. Quietly, he whispered something. Something that was missed by Makoto. Something that he hadn’t uttered for a year.

"Sousuke."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading guys. This is a multiple chapter work, and this was a really short beginning, but I promise the chapters will get longer. I've been wanting to write a souharu fic and I really digged this au, so here it is.
> 
> If you have any thoughts, ideas, or notice any of my mistakes go ahead and tell me in the comments.
> 
> You can also message me on tumblr, at mahou-shouujo.
> 
> Thanks again guys!


	2. Ghosts

_Haruka lay on the bed, draped in sheets. Sunlight slipped in through the blinds, and the room smelled like leather and cologne. Despite barely remembering the night before, Haruka felt absolutely euphoric. Despite the fact that he had spent the night in the seedy, Lucky Star Motel, he wouldn't have wanted it any other way. In other words, Haruka Nanase was in heaven._

_As Haruka lay there, completely content, the sunlight was suddenly obscured by a tall shadow. Sousuke._

_Something about the way his brooding grey eyes looked at Haruka alarmed the smaller man. Sitting up, Haruka ruffled his hair, asking, "Sousuke. What's wrong?"_

_Sousuke looked at Haruka for a long time, not saying anything. He squinted his eyes and bit his lip, before clearing his throat._

_"Haruka, we need to talk."_

* * *

 Haruka's nose twitched as he recalled that morning, long since past. He closed his eyes, leaning his head against the passenger seat of Makoto's car. Sitting there, he felt at peace, no sounds except the hum of the car and the crackle of gravel. Of course, it didn't last.

"Haru, are you still tired?"

Haruka didn't open his eyes, but nonetheless answered Makoto. "Mm."

"Well, we have about five more minutes till we're at the diner, so rest up, I guess."

Saying nothing, Haruka opened his eyes, looking out the window. The first thing that he saw was a group of bikers parked beside a drug store. Bikers being the last thing he wanted to think about, Haruka closed his eyes tightly, letting darkness be his fleeting escape.

Makoto's car lurched to a stop, and after about the third jolt, Haruka opened his eyes. There stood the Golden Touch Diner, in all it's forlorn glory. 

Something caught Haruka's attention out of the corner of his eye, and he turned to see it. There, two parking spaces down, sat a gaudy yellow truck, with orange flame accents. Through the window, Haruka could see a pair of fuzzy dice. Grimacing, he cursed inwardly. His boss was working today.

Makoto, although initially oblivious, finally made note of the garish vehicle, and he said, despair in his tone, "Ohhh. The boss is here today."

Haruka looked at Makoto, and said, "Better not be late then."

The two rushed out of the car, practically tearing down the door to the diner. As Haruka rushed behind the counter, and Makoto darted into the kitchen, a hoarse, irritating voice barked, " _You're late!"_

As Haruka tied an apron around him, a short man walked up to him. He was wearing a white button up shirt, complemented by grease and sweat stains, and the fluorescent diner lights shone on his bald spot. Sticking a short, stubby finger into Haruka's face, he said, "Nanase! You were late again!"

Haruka barely flinched, but tried to take on a placatory tone, "Sorry, Mr. Sugimoto. Won't happen again."

With a wave of his hand, Mr. Sugimoto groaned, "Bah. I'm going to my office."

As Haruka watched the rotund man walk into the office, letting the door slam, despite the stares of the customers, Haruka breathed in, catching the lingering smell of alcohol.

For the rest of the day, Haruka took orders, brought out meals, and busted tables. One order in particular left Haruka feeling like he had been hit in the chest.

It was late, the sun was down, about two hours from closing. Only a scant few customers remained. Almost closing.

Haruka stood at the table, pen and notepad out. "What may I get you sir?"

The guy, a older man with a commanding voice, said, "Yeah, thanks. I need a BLT and a Coke. Make it fast. I have to go soon."

* * *

_"I have to go soon."_

_Haruka shot straight up in the bed. Grabbing one of Sousuke's hands, he asked, "Wh-What do you mean? Where to?"_

_Sousuke gave Haruka a look, scolding, "No, Haruka. No pity party this time. I really, honestly have to go. In fact, I had to leave LAST week."_

_Haruka's chest felt tight. Sousuke was leaving. After everything they had been through, he was leaving. Haruka exhaled, defeated, and said, "You're leaving..."_

_Sousuke grabbed Haruka's hand, and rubbed it against his cheek. "I'm sorry."_

_Letting go, Sousuke stood up, grabbing his jacket off of the armchair. Haruka jumped out of the bed, and ran over to Sousuke, gripping his arm. "S-Sousuke, wait!"_

_Sousuke didn't move, but Haruka could feel his arm tense up. The same arm that held him, and promised to keep him safe._

_Sternly, Sousuke reiterated, "I have to go."_

* * *

"Did you get  _that?!_ "

Haruka snapped out of his daze, looking down at the customer. Nodding, he apologized, "Sorry sir, right away."

Turning, he saw his boss standing behind the counter, scowling with his arms crossed. Haruka walked behind the counter, placing the order. "Extra quick, Makoto."

All of a sudden, the back of his shirt was gripped, and Haruka was spun around. Mr. Sugimoto got in his face, whispering, "Listen Nanase, I don't want  _any_ of your shit today.  _Please_ float back down to us and not make Golden Touch look like a joke."

Haruka nodded, trying not to dry-heave from the stale scent of liquor. His boss clearly wasn't finished and began to continue his lecture, but his words were drowned out by the revving of motorcycles in the parking lot. Haruka and his boss both looked out, to see four bikes parked outside. Haruka's chest felt heavy, and he had a hunch on who these patrons could be.

His hunch was confirmed when the party began walking in. First the silver haired boy and the redhead girl walked in, glancing around. Then the redhead boy walked in. He darted his eyes around, finally landing on Haruka. Tearing away, he looked back outside, saying something. Walking over to join the girl and boy, Haruka barely noticed. His heart beat in his chest, and he ceased breathing.

And he was there. The ghost of someone he lost long ago.

Sousuke.

Sousuke walked into the door, eyes landing immediately on Haruka. Smirking, he winked and walked over to his entourage. Mr. Sugimoto redirected Haruka's attention, hissing, "Take their orders. Don't screw up."

Releasing him, Mr. Sugimoto mumbled under his breath, returning back to his office. Haruka smoothed his apron and approached the customers. 

After what seemed to be the longest five feet of Haruka's life, he said, breathily, "Welcome to Golden Touch. How may I help you?"

The redhead opened his mouth to speak, but Sousuke interrupted, "We'll have four chocolate shakes and a big order of fries."

"Right away, sir."

Haruka scribbled down the order in shaky handwriting, and gave Makoto the order.The brunet looked at Haruka, sensing something wrong, and said, "You don't look so good."

"I'm fine. I'm going to check on Table Four."

Haruka walked off, Makoto just watching, not being the prying type. Haruka went over to the Table Four, checking on the customers. A mom with one too many kids, and no father. After Haruka made sure they were okay, he walked back behind the counter. Staring at a coffee stain on the counter, he felt like he was being stared at. _Knew_ he was being stared at.

* * *

_Sousuke grabbed Haruka's chin and tilted it up to him. Haruka smiled softly, but could feel tears welling up in his eyes. Sousuke brushed them away, and smiled. "Haruka. Babe. It's only for a bit."_

_Haruka felt a little better, asking, "Really?"_

_Nodding, he assured, "I'll be back by monday. In fact, I paid for the whole weekend, so stay here. Wait for me."_

_Haruka nodded, and Sousuke kissed him lightly on the forehead._

_And then he was gone._

_True to his word, Haruka stayed there all weekend. Come monday, Haruka paced anxiously, looking out the window at every noise. Deep down, he knew the truth. Sousuke was gone, long gone._

_Haruka sat, dumbstruck on the floor. Suddenly, he began shaking, crying, dying. After hours of sitting there, he finally called Makoto. He didn't say anything, and Makoto didn't ask._

_A few weeks later, Haruka got a call._

_"Hello?"_

_"...Babe?"_

_Haruka's heart stopped. "So-Sousuke?"_

_"It's me."_

_Suddenly an influx of questions began flowing out of Haruka, "Where are you? Are you okay? Are you hu-"_

_Sousuke silenced him, saying, "I don't have much time. I got a little held up. I'm a little caught up in the game right now."_

_"O-Okay."_

_"Haruka, I love you, okay?"_

_"Yeah. I love you too."_

_Haruka gathered up his courage, finally asking, "Why didn't you come back?"_

_Click._

_That was the last he heard._

* * *

"Waiter!"

The redhead boy beckoned, and Haruka walked over. After rummaging through his jacket, he procured some crumpled up money, and handed it to him. "Here."

Haruka nodded, "Thank you. Come again."

The group walked out, and Haruka watched them go. Turning around, he was walking back to the counter, when Sousuke walked back in. He walked up to Haruka and looked the smaller man in the eyes. Pulling some money out of his jeans, he handed it to him, saying, "A tip."

Haruka took it, and watched Sousuke leave, but not before the brunet cast a look over his shoulder. Haruka walked behind the counter. Once there he counted the money. One, two....seven dollars. Wedged between the sixth and seventh bill, however, was a piece of regular paper.

Haruka inspected it, finding a note, which read, 

           _Haru_     

_I need to talk to you_

_Lucky Star?_

              _-S_

Haruka breathed and looked at the clock. Thirty more minutes. Then back to the note. Every fibre of his being screamed no, not to take the bait. Or almost every fibre. Some part of him wanted to go to the motel. Some part of him needed answers. He folded the note into his pocket, and turned to Makoto.

"Hey, Mako."

Makoto looked up, raising an eyebrow, "Yeah, Haru-chan?"

Gulping, Haruka said, "I need to make a stop after work somewhere, okay?"               

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another very short chapter!
> 
> Thank you guys for reading. I promise that it will pick up, I just wanted to establish some backstory.
> 
> Thank you all for the comments, they mean so much to me!
> 
> And as always, please feel free to leave comments, suggestions, criticism, anything!
> 
> Thanks guys!


	3. Smokes

_"No, stop!" Haruka laughed._

_"Try it. It's fun," Sousuke said, holding up a cigarette to his mouth._

_"No, those things stink."_

_"Bah, square," Sousuke teased._

_Haruka smacked Sousuke's arm, playfully, "I'm not square!"_

_Holding the cigarette back to his mouth, Sousuke said, "Prove it."_

_Haruka snatched it out of his hand, "Fine. I'll try it."_

_Placing it in his mouth, Haruka breathed in, then erupted in a fit of coughing. Sousuke covered his mouth, trying not to laugh.  
_

_Hitting him again, Haruka nagged, "That isn't funny!"_

_Sousuke nodded, and said, "Yeah, it was."_

_"Those things are disgusting. And my breathe tastes like smoke."_

_Sousuke leaned over and kissed Haruka. Breaking away, he smirked, "I like the taste."_

_Haruka blushed and said, "Maybe I could get used to the taste. Maybe."_

_Sousuke flicked his ear, and said, "How un-square."_

_"Shut up," Haruka said, and this time he leaned in._

_Haruka's prediction soon became true. Eventually he did get use to the taste of cigarettes, and smoked them occasionally. Haruka smoked their entire relationship, and a little afterwards. They reminded him of Sousuke._

_He stopped after awhile, partly due to Makoto's complaints. But he still snuck them every now and then. They were one of the things that he and Sousuke shared. And one of the things he could get without Sousuke._

* * *

" _What?!"_

The disapproval hit Haruka like a ton of bricks. Him and Makoto sat in Makoto's car, speeding along the road to the Lucky Star. Haruka had explained how Sousuke came back, and wanted him to meet there. Makoto quickly disagreed, repeatedly telling Haruka that it was a bad idea, since they left the diner five minutes ago.

"Wh-When did Sousuke even come back?"

Haruka looked out the window, and huffed, "Last night, Makoto. Remember? You even talked to him."

Makoto scoffed, saying, "I think I'd  _remember_ that conversation."

Raising his eyebrows, Haruka said, sarcastically, "Really? Fooled me."

Makoto breathed heavy, and turned sharply. Clutching the gear with one hand, he said, "I just...I don't agree. Remember how sad you were the last time? I don't think you should go Haruka-"

"Well, I'm not asking your permission!"

Makoto grew silent, and Haruka shut his eyes. Sighing, he said, "I'm sorry, Mako. I don't like this either. I just _have_ to go."

Still silent, Haruka turned to Makoto. Those green eyes, usually so warm, stared out at the road. The lines under his eyes were tokens of the stress and fatigue he was under. They were both under. This was unnecessary stress. Makoto knew it. Haruka knew it. But Haruka couldn't let this go.

The two rode in complete silence the rest of the way, the mood tense. Haruka didn't say anything further, and Makoto didn't push.

When they finally pulled into the parking lot of the motel, Haruka felt sick. His hands shook violently and his breathe came irregularly, if at all. With wobbly hands, he opened the door. Standing outside the car, his knees almost gave out from under him and he clenched the side of the car till his knuckles were white.

He stood looking lost, not knowing what to do, where to go.

Makoto got out of the car, stretching his tall form. Leaning against the car, he asked, "What's the plan?"

"I d-don't know where to start," Haruka replied, breathily.

"Try the room with the bikes parked out front."

Nodding, Haruka began to walk, and Makoto followed. Holding out his hand, Haruka said, "You don't have to come. I know you don't want to."

Scratching his head, Makoto said, "Yeah. But you're my best friend so I got your back. Just like when we were little kids."

Haruka smiled, feeling a little better, knowing that Makoto had his back. As the two closed the distance between them and the room, they noticed a few things. Firstly, there were now five bikes. There were four at the diner earlier. Maybe important. Also, the door was number 306. Probably not important. Finally, and probably the most alarming was the shouting coming from the room.

Alarmed, the two looked at each other, Makoto giving Haruka an "Are you sure?' look. 

Haruka reached a hand out and knocked tentatively on the door. Hearing a loud shush, he stepped back. Opening the door, stood a man who's hair had been dyed pink. Weird. He flashed a bright smile, saying, "Hey. What can I do for you two?"

Haruka tried to look behind him, saying, "Sousuke said to come here..."

Perking up at the sound of Sousuke's voice, the man looked back, "Who the hell is it?!"

The man looked Haruka up and down, and raised his eyebrows. With a smug grin, he said, "Oh. Okay. Come on in."

Leading the two in, the pink haired guy sat on the foot of the bed. The redheads and the other boy all gave them sharp looks. Sousuke was nowhere to be seen, but Haruka did notice the bathroom door was shut. Calling out in a singsong voice, the guy said, "Sousuke! Visitors!"

There was a fumbling with the doorknob, and Sousuke replied, "Shit, Kisumi. I just got out of the fricking shower."

As the door opened, and steam escaped the room, Sousuke appeared, wearing nothing but a towel around his waist. Haruka scanned his body, his familiar body, and gulped. Rubbing a towel on his head, he asked, "Who the he- Haru?"

Haruka nodded, and Sousuke blushed, then glared at Kisumi. "Who's your friend, Haru?"

"Makoto. My best friend."

Sousuke nodded, then looked at the redhead, "Rin."

Rin, the redhead, stood up and clapped, announcing, "I could use a smoke, anybody else?"

Dead silence.

Rin shot the other three a fierce look, and said, "Kisumi, Ai. Let's smoke. Come on Gou."

As the three made their way to the door, the pink haired guy, Kisumi, grabbed Makoto's hands, saying, "Come on cutie. Let's share a cigarette."

Makoto explained how he didn't smoke, but Kisumi dragged him out anyway. Makoto looked at Haruka, eyes pleading, but Haruka just mouthed "Sorry."

In all the commotion of the entire group leaving the cramped room, Haruka forgot Sousuke was there, for a second. Turning back, Sousuke sighed. "Kisumi, man. Shows up late everywhere we go and lives for drama."

Haruka watched as he went to the closet, rummaging through clothes. He slipped his towel off, his exposed, wet skin, catching the light. As Sousuke slipped on a pair of pants, he asked, "Want a cigarette?"

Something about that comment sent Haruka off. The way Sousuke acted like they hadn't seen each other in a year, like he didn't know Haruka was angry, like everything was okay.

_"Do I want a cigarette?"_

Sousuke turned raising an eyebrow, "Yeah."

Haruka reached for the nearest thing, a brush, and threw it. It hit the wall next to Sousuke, and Sousuke rolled his eyes. Before he could say anything Haruka continued, "You left me! You promised me you'd come back, but you lied!"

Haruka walked over to him, flinging an accusatory finger in the bigger man's face, "You lied, Sousuke! You lied to me!"

Sousuke reached to hold Haruka's, and began, "Haru-"

" _No! Liar!"  
_

Sousuke sighed and in a second, grabbed Haruka's wrists and pinned them against the wall. Haruka struggled, but Sousuke was much stronger. Leaning in, Sousuke said, "Haru. Let me explain."

"Let go of me!"

"Will you let me explain?"

"You're hurting me!"

Sousuke let go, and stepped back, holding his hands up. "Sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you."

Haruka looked at him, rubbing his wrists. Something about the way he said that implied that the comment ran deeper than wrists. Haruka breathed in, attempting to fix his ruffled hair. "Sousuke."

Sousuke raised an eyebrow, "Yeah?"

Haruka looked him in the eyes, and said, "I'll give you  _one_ chance to explain. Only one."

Sousuke gestured to the bed, but Haruka shook his head.

"Fine. Okay. Here's what happened. At first, I was planning on coming back. But then I ran into some old  _friends._ "

Sousuke looked at Haruka, waiting for him to ask. Humoring him, Haruka inquired, "What friends?"

"Long story short, I owed some money. Alot of money."

This time Haruka didn't need a cue, "How much?"

"Twelve big ones."

Haruka's eyes widened, "What?"

Sousuke nodded, and said, "Yeah, and I had to pay it off. Do some extra work. Rough some people up."

"Why didn't you call?"

Sousuke shrugged, "Shitty person, I guess."

"That's it?" Haruka scoffed. 

"I guess."

Haruka chuckled and began walking to the door. As he opened it, two large hands slammed against it, shutting it. Haruka turned to Sousuke, who said, "I thought about you that entire time. And I always planned on coming back. Does that mean anything to you?"

Haruka looked him in the eyes, and said, coldly, " _I guess."_

Sousuke stepped back, nodding, and Haruka opened the door, "Bye Sousuke."

Sousuke looked him up and down, and said, "This isn't over. I'm not just going to let you walk away."

_SLAM._

"Jerk."

Haruka walked through the parking lot, steaming. Makoto stood by the bikes, looking uneasy as the bikers talked around him. Haruka looked at him, and Makoto started saying goodbye. He had to pry Kisumi off of him, as he was practically wearing the boy on his arm. The bikers waved at them, but Haruka just got in the car.

"I see you made a friend," Haruka said.

Makoto chuckled, "Yeah. Kisumi is pretty funny. They're all pretty wild. The girl, Gou, started screaming at Rin because he wouldn't let his 'baby sis' smoke one cigarette. It was hysterical."

Picking up on Haruka's mood, Makoto dropped the light conversation.

"You okay?" he asked.

Haruka nodded.

"Want to talk about it?"

Haruka tilted his head back, and groaned. He did. He also wanted to scream. Cry. Roll over and die. Punch Sousuke in his face. Instead of all those things, however, he said, "I just want a cigarette."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so btw, they're older in this. Early twenties. Yeah... I wanted them to be older, and not so fresh out of high school.
> 
> Anyways thanks for reading! At the suggestion of LoveKSB, I decided to try to keep my chapters shorter but frequent.
> 
> As always, feel free to leave comments, suggestions, anything!
> 
> And you can always contact me on tumblr at aphhrodiite.


	4. Best Friends

Haruka ran back and forth in the diner. A refill on a cup of coffee here, taking an order there, delivering food back over here. It was a busy day, to say the  _least._ Droves of people, townsfolk, workers, and people driving through sought out the diner to take a break from the unbearable heat, and Golden Touch had air condition and semi-decent food.

Finally Haruka was granted a reprieve, of sorts. He stood behind the counter, brewing another batch of coffee. His eyes scanned the diner, making sure that all the customers were attended to. Catching the scent of sweaty people, he yawned once, and slumped down, resting on an elbow.

Sighing, he looked out the diner double doors, bored. It was going to be a long day.

* * *

_This is gonna be a long day,_ Sousuke thought. 

The brunet sat in a chair, looking out at the world through a grimy window. The sun beat down on the dry, arid terrain, and Sousuke could feel the heat. Him and his gang were hunkered down in the hotel room. Rin, Gou, and Ai all lay on the bed, watching some weird show on the small, staticky television. Kisumi held a book in his hands, poring over the pages.

After awhile, Rin rolled over, groaning obnoxiously. "Why is it so hot!?"

Sousuke rolled his eyes, saying, "Hell has broken loose."

Everybody in the room detected the bitterness in Sousuke's look, and he was shot strange looks from all over. Not that he cared.

The room was in awkward silence, until Rin, feeling obligated as a best friend of sorts, said "Are you seriously still hung up over the other day and that guy?"

"His name is Haruka," Sousuke said, brusquely. "And yeah. I guess."

Kisumi looked up from his book, "Well, I thought that the guy he was with was pretty cute."

Sousuke suddenly turned from the window, and shouted, "Really?! Good for you Kisumi!"

Turning back, everyone bore holes into his back, in silence. Kisumi broke away, and looked at Rin, mouthing, _That's you._

Rin looked at Sousuke and then back to Kisumi shaking his head, and waving his hands dismissively.

Kisumi flung a finger at Rin then pointed at Sousuke, nodding vigorously.

Rin shook his head with equal energy. Kisumi held up a fist and shook it, glaring at Rin. Rubbing his eyes, Rin held up his hands, surrendinger to Kisumi. Kisumi dropped his fist, and smiled, saying, "I'm bored. Ai, Gou, let's go for a ride."

The two looked at him, easily picking up his intentions. Aiichirou looked at Sousuke and got up feebly. Gou followed the two of them outside, muttering, "It's 103 degrees outside and we have to go o-"

_Slam._

Rin stood in awkward silence, hearing the engines rev and then fade away. He looked down at his feet, making swirl patterns on the rug, chuckling, "I guess it's just us."

Sousuke, unflinching, said, "Funny how it always _turns out_ like this."

More silence.

Finally, Sousuke said, "Rin, have you ever messed up big time?"

Rin laughed, and said, "Yeah, I guess. I mean, I mess up all the time."

Sousuke turned around, and said, "No, like _mess up_ mess up."

His deep grey eyes stared into Rin's demanding answers. Answers only Rin could give him.

"No I guess not."

"Mm."

Sousuke didn't say anything more. It wasn't unusual however. Sousuke had always been aloof, ever since the two met. There was no pushing, no prying. Sousuke told Rin what he wanted to tell him, and Rin accepted that. Sousuke had never been the articulate type, and Rin was the passionate one in this friendship. If he wanted to tell him something he would.

However, the two had a strong connection since they met. They both came from similar backgrounds, yet turned out to be very different. Rin and his sister had grown up in a shanty little town, with a negligent mother and a drunkard of a father. The two of them fought often, and one day, Rin and his sister just left. Sousuke had grown up in a big city, alone with his mother. Him and his mom weren't close, and she was gone most of the time doing unorthodox _work_ to care for him. If you called staying out late drinking with strange men, 'caring.'

When they had met, Sousuke was a bouncer at a bar, and Rin had been looking for his little sister. She had gotten a job there as a mediocre singer, and Rin had practically lost his mind when he couldn't find her. That same night, two guys got rough with her, when she said she was too busy to go with them anywhere, and Rin and Sousuke both defended her. Due to it being a huge scene, the bar owner fired Sousuke for being too rough, even for bouncer standards, and Rin and Gou were banned for life. But that night they had forged something. It couldn't be called a friendship immediately, more like a partnership.

And then the two partners took to the roads. It was a way to escape from their past. From themselves. Everywhere they went, there was something to do, life on the edge. They went everywhere, taking in wandering souls, watching those souls leave forever, ever-changing like the weather. The two were the only two constant fixtures in each others life. They trusted each other. From partners to friends.

Best friends.

Usually, Rin would let it go. But this time,  _this time,_ Sousuke was really beat up about it. And if anybody could read Sousuke Yamazaki, it was Rin. And what he inferred was that Sousuke needed to talk about it.

"Wh-What happened," Rin asked.

Sousuke sighed, and said, "Well, I guess...I don't know. Remember last year, when I left?"

Rin nodded, "Yeah, you thought you had a half-sibling or something."

"Yeah. And if I do, I never found them. But I did find Haruka. I met him here, in this town."

Sousuke smiled for a fleeting second, then slouched, looking defeated. "Haruka was the best thing that ever happened to me. He's great. He's gorgeous, smart, caring...weird. But he took care of me. Made me feel like somebody gave a damn about me. And he accepted me, issues and all. With him, I felt like I had found the one, you know. Somebody I could laugh, cry, be myself, anything. And I might have really screwed up and lost it."

"Because?"

"Remember when we met up again? Well, after we met up, in the city we had to take care of that work, and I got caught up. I promised him I'd be back in a weekend, but it's been almost a year."

"A year?! Shit, I'd be ups- I mean, that's understandable," Rin said, coughing.

Sousuke glared at him, and continued, "Yeah. I didn't mean to leave, to hurt him, but now Haruka's really angry with me. He would barely look at me the other night. And, shit Rin, I want to make it up to him, I want us to be together again."

* * *

 Kisumi drove along the road, leading Gou and Aiichirou. They pulled over at a bar, and the three made their way inside. Sitting down, Kisumi ordered three bottles of beer, and the bartender quickly handed them out.

Kisumi took a long swig, and slammed it down.

Aiichirou took a small sip, and asked, tentatively, "What's going on with Sousuke?"

Raising his eyebrows, Kisumi laughed, "God if I know."

"But you do," Gou said sharply.

The two men looked at her, and she shot Kisumi a fierce look. "Look, Ai might be gullible and foolish-"

"Hey!"

"Shut it, Ai. He might be gullible and foolish, but I wasn't born yesterday. I'm not a fool."

Kisumi stared at her for a long time, the air tense. Finally he shrugged, "Okay, you got me. Something may very well be going on. But how would I know?"

"B-Because you're intuitive. You're the smartest out of all of us," Aiichirou said.

Gou nodded, and Kisumi sighed. "Okay, look. Sousuke's friend the other night clearly means alot to him. And he needs to make amends."

"Amends?"

"Now, I honestly don't know. But now you see, Sousuke may be big old grouchy pants, but he has a big heart. Big ego, attitude, temper, but also big heart. And he wants to give that Haruka everything he can give him."

Gou laughed, and said, "Everything? Kisumi we're here becaus-"

"Shh," Aiichirou said. Across the bar, four bikers watched the three of them. 

Kisumi smiled, saying, "Act cool, finish your drinks. We'll talk later."

Gou looked at the bikers, uncertainty on her face, "You think we'll get out of this one, Kisumi?"

Kisumi beamed, and said, lowly, "Maybe. But if not, might as well have some fun first, right?"

* * *

Sousuke and Rin sat next to each other on the bed. Sousuke had poured out his heart, but had returned to his stony facade. Rin smiled and patted his friends back.

"You got some business you clearly need to take care of, Sou."

Sousuke nodded, "Yeah I know."

Sousuke looked at his hands. They were big, at least that's what Haruka had said. But his big hands had fit together so nicely with Haruka's small little hands. Hands that he longed to hold again. Hands that belonged to the person he longed to hold again.

"I've never felt so beat up over something," Sousuke confessed.

Rin gave him a long long look, then asked, "Better fix it then."

"But what if Haruka doesn't forgive me?"

Rin shrugged, "We move on. Go someplace else. Follow the roads."

"And what if he does?"

Rin sighed, "We'll figure something out."

Sousuke nodded, and twiddled his thumbs. He didn't usually feel so nervous, wrung out. His chest was heavy, and he couldn't breathe. For the past year all he thought about was Haruka, holding him, kissing him, being with him. Haruka clearly didn't reciprocate the feelings. Everything was riding on this. He might fall apart. He might even die.

Not even the vast expanse of the roads could take him away from this. He'd always,  _always,_ be bound to this place. But 'bound' isn't what he wants. He'd rather be 'connected.' And suddenly it dawned on him. Why this was so important. Why he felt so anxious. Why he needed Haruka's forgiveness. It wasn't just about righting a wrong. Wasn't just leaving an ex on better terms. Wasn't any of that.

Turning to his best friend, he said, "Rin?"

"Yeah, Sousuke?"

"I think I'm in love."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so here's chapter four.
> 
> Sorry it took so long, it was accidentally deleted, and I had to rewrite it.
> 
> Thank you all for the kinds words, especially imperativa. I've been meaning to answer your comments but I haven't know how, but thank you!
> 
> As always please leave me any comments, suggestions, criticism, anything. 
> 
> Thanks guys. Stay tuned.


	5. Acceleration

_Splash!_

Haruka practically threw dishes into the sink, splashing water everywhere. His apron was completely wet, and if he bothered to notice, he would find that he smelled faintly of lemon-scented soap. Haruka, however, was much more preoccupied in investing himself completely in washing the dishes, trying to not think about the not so great day he was having. 

Firstly, the diner was swamped. For some unknown reason, people drove up in scores, and the understaffed restaurant had to shift into overdrive to barely manage. In the brief reprieve that they were granted, Mr. Sugimoto had ordered Haruka behind the scenes to "maintain the slight dish problems."

And by that, he meant the mountain of greasy dishes, courtesy of the plethora of customers.

Hearing the ding of the bell, signifying a customer entering the establishment, Haruka dried his hands on his soaked apron, and walked out of the kitchen. 

"Welcome to Golden Touch."

The customer, an older lady who emitted an intimidating aura, sat at the counter, tapping her acrylic nails against the counter. As if Haruka hadn't acknowledged her, she said loudly, "Excuse me! Can I get some service?"

Haruka pulled out his notepad, and walked over, saying, "Yes ma'am. Can I start you off with a drink or would yo-"

"Can I just see a menu?" the woman demanded.

Taken aback, Haruka responded, "Yes, of course."

As she practically snatched the menu out of his hands, he was alerted by the clang of a cup against a counter. Turning to the other side of the restaurant, a man held up his coffee cup, and shouted, "More coffee!"

Haruka walked over, quickly snatching the coffee pitcher, and poured the man his drink.

"Hey, waiter! Nobody said you could leave! Come take my order!"

Haruka rushed back over, jotting down the woman's order. Turkey BLT and waffle fries. As Haruka handed it to Makoto, he heard the creak of a door, and turned to see Mr. Sugimoto squinting around the restaurant. As his eyes landed on Haruka, he barked, "Nanase! Who the hell is shouting out here!?"

In an attempt to appease his cranky boss, Haruka said, calmly, "Nobody sir. Just some rowdy customers."

Haruka was temporarily relieved, as the boss seemed like his rage was ebbing, but it was soon brought back up, as the woman stood and said, "I'm the one yelling, sir.  _But_ I wouldn't have to if the service was decent around here. Too bad your waiter was busy doing a whole bunch of nothin'."

Before the raven haired man could even defend himself, his boss turned on him, shouting, "Nanase! You lied! All you do is horse around, all day!"

Trying to maintain his composure, Haruka said, "That's not true."

His boss flung a stubby finger in his face, and said, "Oh,  _really?_ Then how come everytime I come out, your pretty little ass is behind the counter doing nothing?!"

"You only check every now and then. You don't see me when I do do stuff."

Mr. Sugimoto's face only got redder, and he squealed, " _You don't do anything!!"_

The two's argument was interrupted by the banging of a cup against the counter. The same man from across the diner pointed at Haruka and said, "Waiter! This damn coffee's  _cold!"_

"There you messed up again!"  
"No surprise, can barely take an order, let alone serve it!"  
"Can I please have some  _decent_ coffee?!"

_Crash!_

Haruka huffed and the entire restaurant grew silent, watching the shards of glass and cold coffee dripping down the wall. Haruka's hands trembled, and his vision was red and blurry. Makoto's eyes were wide, as he stared at Haruka.

Mr. Sugimoto narrowed his eyes, whispering furiously, reeking of cheap liquor, "Clean that up.  _Now._ "

Haruka looked him back in the eyes, not backing down this time, "Go to hell."

Deciding to not give the boss the satisfaction of firing him in front of a huge crowd, Haruka took off his apron, flinging it at his former boss. "I quit."

Haruka made for the door, ignoring the murmurs of the diner patrons, ignoring his bosses demand to come back as 'closing was in an hour,' even ignoring Makoto's protest for Haruka to wait.

Feeling tears well up in his eyes, he opened the door, letting the cool night air brush his tears away, embracing the night.

* * *

Sousuke sat in the motel room, flicking through the staticky channels on the tv. After awhile of channel-surfing, Sousuke groaned in discontent. Everybody else was gone for the night, having run off to do who knows what. Sousuke stayed behind, not wanting to kill the mood. Not that he really cared. He didn't care about anything these days. His empathy fed on his soul, and he felt like an empty shell of a human. This was how he had felt since he arrived here, not having had realized the full consequences of his mistakes. 

Deciding to stop wallowing in self-loathing, as he had done for the past week almost, he got up. Grabbing his leather jacket off of the armchair, he placed it on, and grabbed the keys to his bike. Walking out, he felt the cool air. The nights here were so different from the days. The blistering heat of the day retreated at night, a pleasant cool taking its place in the arid land. 

Revving up his bike, he drove off, with no destination in mind.

The town was quiet, except for the loud noise that Sousuke made. Everything was closed, the streets empty. Sousuke felt completely alone. Aimlessly he wandered the roads, his mind blank. Blank save for one thing, _Haruka._

And with the thought of Haruka was a myriad of emotions. Guilt, loathing, regret, anger. Part of him wanted to scream until he died, another part wanted to shake Haruka till he saw reason, another wanting to be able to articulate _everything_ that Haruka was to him, and lastly, he wanted to just drive off and never come back.

He stopped his bike, and pulled over. Stumbling, he looked out into the empty street, then to the storefront that his back faced. Looking up, he read, in faded lettering, _Della's Sweets._

Suddenly he was looking at the sign again, but from a different time, different place, different life. He remembered how him and Haruka had strolled through the town one day, and had come across the shop, once alive with color and business. Haruka had a sweet tooth for dark chocolate and the two went into the candy store. In a way, the shop was a reflection of himself. In only a year, it had changed so much. Peering in through the window, he saw that it was empty, save for dusty racks. In a year it went from bright and lively to decrepit and dismal.

Chuckling, Sousuke slid to the ground and rested his head against his knees. He kept them there for an eternity. When he finally looked up, he had no idea what time it was. All he could comprehend was that it was still night and he was freezing.

Then he saw him. At first he thought he was hallucinating. But then he stopped and looked directly at Sousuke. Staggering to his feet, Sousuke called out, "H-Haruka?"

Haruka clenched his fists and stayed rooted to the ground. Before he knew it, Sousuke was running up to Haruka holding onto his arms. He looked at Haruka's face, which was blank and weary looking. His eyes, his deep blue eyes, were complemented with deep circles under them and a defeated gaze. Sousuke felt a pang in his chest, all his guilt accumulating in this instant. Had he done this to Haruka?

Feebly, he asked, "What are you doing here? I mean, don't you work all the time?"

"I got fired..." Haruka mumbled.

"What?"

"I got fired! O-Or I quit! I don't know! I don't care, okay!"

Sousuke wrapped his arms around Haruka, and he said, softly, "Okay. Okay. I don't care either, then."

Haruka's hands found a resting place on Sousuke's chest. How long had he longed to be in his arms again? How long had he dreamt of the smell of leather? How long, how long, how long?

Shaking, Haruka cried into Sousuke's chest, clutching the shirt until his knuckles turned white.

Sousuke's heart sank and he quietly asked, "Do you want me to take you home?"

Haruka shook his head, then said, "No. I can't face Makoto right now. I've let him down."

Breaking away to look Haruka in the eyes, Sousuke asked, "Then come with me."

Wiping his eyes, Haruka asked, "What?"

"Come with me! We can leave right now."

"To your motel? There's like ten of y-"

"No, Haru. We can go anywhere.  _Together._ " _  
_

Haruka looked at Sousuke, then laughed scornfully. "I may be a mess right now, but I haven't sunken into complete desperation or stupidity."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Haruka rolled his eyes, "You're asking me to throw everything away and to just go with you? Until what? You get 'busy' and leave me alone in the middle of nowhere for a decade? As if."

Sousuke grabbed Haruka and shook him, "Stop! Stop stop stop! You're always so stubborn! How many times do I have to apologize?! I'm  _sorry,_ okay! I wish I could take it back, I  _can't._ But I can make it up to you. Haruka, please."

"You're  _weak!_ You promised to protect me! You lied to me!  _You lied!_ " Haruka screamed. Haruka tried to wriggle out of Sousuke's grasp, but Sousuke held tight.

"I'm weak? I'm sorry. I'm so frickin' sorry, Haruka. But I _can_ be strong, okay? I  _can_ protect you. And when I'm strong?"

Haruka didn't answer for a long time. When he finally looked up, his lip quivered, but he stayed silent. Sousuke smiled softly, and tried again, "And when I'm strong?"

More tears streamed down his face, but Haruka managed to hiccup out, " _I l-love you_."

* * *

 "Haru! Haru-chan!  _Haruka!_ "

Makoto shouted through the streets, huffing. He had to stay after Haruka's scene, but as soon as he was able to, he split from the diner and began looking for his best friend. He still wore his Golden Touch uniform, and chef hat. He stood in the middle of the street under a lamp, looking around.

_Haru could be anywhere. God, I hope he's not hurt._

Haruka had hurt himself in the past. Always claimed it was an accident. Makoto wasn't dumb, though. And Makoto knew better than anybody else how sensitive Haruka was. Beneath that icy facade was a boy with a heavy heart. These thoughts raced throughout his head, and filled him with new urgency, and he broke out into a run, shouting for Haruka.

He had only gone two more blocks when he was nearly hit by a motorcycle. Rubbing his head, his gaze refocused and Kisumi was smiling down at him. "Aah, sorry Mako-chan."

Makoto got up and brushed himself off. "It's fine, Kisumi."

Kisumi tilted his head and pursed his lips, then asked, "Everything okay?"

Makoto didn't answer immediately, but looked around, saying, "I'm trying to find Haruka. H-Have you seen him?"

Getting off his bike, the tow-headed boy walked over to Makoto and said, "Awh, you're so cute. I'm sure he's fine."

Makoto brushed him off, saying, "Yeah, but I want to be sure."

Kisumi wrapped an arm through Makoto's and purred, "Give me some of that attention.  _Please?_ "

Blushing, Makoto tore away, saying, "S-Sorry but this is serious!"

Rolling his eyes, Kisumi got serious and said, "Oi, beefcake. Listen."

Raising his eyebrows, Makoto gave Kisumi his full attention. "Your friend is fine, alright. He's with Sousuke."

"Oh, that's a relief."

Kisumi placed his hands on his hips, and said, "No. That's a problem. A  _big_ one."

Worry flashed across Makoto's face. His voice cautiously slow, he asked, "How so?"

Sighing, Kisumi ruffled his hair, and said, "We need to talk.. Your place?"

Makoto furrowed his brow in thought. On one hand, Kisumi's seriousness alarmed Makoto. On another, he had a hunch that Kisumi was manipulating and probably didn't care about Sousuke or Haruka. Lastly, he wasn't sure he wanted Kisumi in his apartment. Kisumi seemingly read his mind, and said, "Look gorgeous. This isn't a game.  _Trust_ me."

"Why should I?"

Kisumi tilted his head, and said, gravely, "Shit's about to hit the fan, that's why."

Something about the way Kisumi said it made Makoto realize that he was serious.  _Act now, think later._

He looked at Kisumi and said, "Okay."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, thanks for reading guys. Things are about to really pick up. For the record, Rin may be Sousuke's right hand man, but Kisumi is definitely the brains of their group. And his foresight is 20/20. 
> 
> Anyways, feel free to leave comments, suggestions, anything!
> 
> And I hope you all are having a good break, no matter what you celebrate or if at all! Stay safe guys!


	6. Going

_Vroom. Vroooooom._

Haruka had his arms wrapped around Sousuke, as he drove along an empty road. Haruka could feel the wind burning against his cheeks as the bike pushed seventy, but there, in that moment, Haruka wouldn't want to be anywhere else. He smelled the back of Sousuke's leather jacket and smiled softly.

Haruka had thought that he could drop Sousuke, all that time his heartache festering, but being with Sousuke again changed Haruka's mind all over again. He shut his eyes, and rested his head on Sousuke's back. He felt alive in the night, the wind, the cool air, the desert. The same desert so unpleasant during the day, so enticing at night.

After awhile, Haruka opened his eyes and looked around. He didn't have the slightest idea where he was. Not to mention, now that they were on a clear open road, Sousuke was going fast.  _Really fast._

Haruka tried speaking over the loud revving of the engine, "Sousuke! Sousuke!"

Sousuke slowed down and said loudly, "What?"

Gripping tighter, Haruka said, "We're going really fast."

Smirking, Sousuke said, "I  _know._ "

Haruka rolled his eyes, and asked, "Okay. Where are we going?"

Sousuke revved the engine again, and laughed, "Haruka. I'm gonna teach you just what fast is. Hang on tight."

Haruka smiled and adjusted himself on the bike. He turned around momentarily and saw, far away, lights in the distance. He had never noticed that his town shone like that. It stood out like a beacon in the dark landscape. Of course, Haruka could pinpoint not knowing on the fact that he only knew the town from  _inside_ the town.  But Sousuke was taking him away., showing him something new. Haruka's heart felt lighter, as he wondered just how far him and Sousuke could go.

* * *

 "Haru!  _Haru!!"_

Makoto shouted from his car window, driving slowly throughout the town. Kisumi sat  in the passenger seat watching the brunet. His blue eyes took in Makoto entirely. Analyzing him. He had watched Makoto that entire night, how Makoto had taken the information, his reaction. Kisumi was good at reading people, but he had yet to come to a conclusion on Makoto.

"Haruka!"

"Makoto."

Again Makoto shouted, "Haru-chan!"

"Mako-"

"Haruka! Haruk-"

 _"Makoto,"_ Kisumi interrupted, loudly. 

Makoto turned to Kisumi, raising his eyebrows. "What?!"

Kisumi looked out the window, then back to Makoto, before asking, "You're not very smart, are you?"

Flustered, Makoto blushed, and began to defend himself. "What? Wh-Why would you as-"

Cutting him off, Kisumi asked, brusquely, "We should've gone straight to our motel."

Ruffling his hair, Makoto said, "Y-Yeah. That was my next move."

Chuckling, Kisumi nodded and said, "Of course."

Kisumi's smirk was wiped off his face when Makoto pressed on the gas, and Kisumi was jerked forward, hitting his head on the dashboard. Sitting back up, he rubbed his head and groaned. However, the tow-headed boy's cry was ignored as Makoto was focused on racing over to the motel.

Once the two got there, Makoto grabbed Kisumi's wrist and practically dragged him to the door. At the motel room, Kisumi snatched his arm away. Pulling out a key, he unlocked the door, and moved out of the way before Makoto practically pushed it down.

The two walked inside, and scanned the room. Empty. Kisumi scratched his head, then said, "Where is everybody?"

Makoto began pacing back and forth, "I thought you said they'd be here!"

"I thought they would be!"

Makoto gripped his temples, and said, "Okay, where would they be. Where!?"

Kisumi tried to placate him, and said, "Makoto. Hey, hey. Calm down."

Suddenly, Kisumi leaned up, kissing the taller man. Makoto held the kiss for a second, then pushed Kisumi away. Wiping his mouth, he scolded, "This isn't the time for that! We have to find those two!"

Kisumi brushed his shirt, then looked at Makoto for a long time. Finally, he said, "No way."

Makoto held up his hands in frustration, and said, " _What?_ "

"You're in love with him."

Makoto waved his hand, and said, "No, what? No."

Kisumi crossed his arms and looked at the floor, tapping his foot. Makoto stepped closer to Kisumi, but he held out a hand stopping Makoto. 

Makoto stood there, blushing red, and said, "I'm sorry. I really need your help."

Kisumi didn't say anything for awhile, then said, bluntly, "Fine. But then just leave me alone."

The pink-haired man walked out of the room, leaving Makoto standing there, by himself.

* * *

"This place is incredible..."

Haruka sat next to Sousuke, looking up at the night sky. The two had driven far from the town, and sat under large layered rocks. Sousuke had found the nook accidentally, when he swerved off road, avoiding law enforcement. After the adrenaline had died down, he noticed how quiet this place was. How serene. Here he could formulate his thoughts easily, thoughts that he had no problem thinking of but great difficulty in actually talking about.

Sousuke could say a million things about the place. About how the desert was so interesting, dotted with the abstract silhouettes of rock formations and cactus. About how the stars seemed like sardines, fighting with each other for space in the night sky to radiate their brilliance. How the moon shone on the world, making everything seem softer.

Instead of actually saying those things however, he just nodded, "Yeah."

Haruka looked at him, and reached over, placing his hand on Sousuke's. Haruka continued to stare upward, but Sousuke's face was burning. He scooted closer to Haruka, and looked up at the sky as well, trying to think about what Haruka was taking from it.

"What's so interesting?"

Haruka looked at him, and shrugged. His cerulean eyes were striking on his face, the moonlight making the dark, tired circles under his eyes less noticeable.

Sousuke smiled slightly, and shrugged dramatically. "That's it. Just a shrug."

Haruka laughed and said, "I mean, it's just, I don't know. You ever wonder what it's like out there. Like how big it is. O-Or all the things to see."

Sousuke nodded, and said, "Yeah. I do."

Squeezing  Haruka's hand, Sousuke continued, "There's alot to see here too. A whole world of things to see. You just got to go for it, you know?"

Haruka shook his head, and said, "I don't, actually. I live a pretty boring life. Nothing interesting to see out here in the middle of nowhere."

Sousuke narrowed his eyes, and said, "That so. I don't think so."

"Really? How so?"

Sousuke waited awhile, before saying, "You're interesting."

"Not as much as you."

"Mm."

Sousuke leaned forward and grabbed Haruka, pulling him in. Haruka wrapped his arms around Sousuke's neck, returning Sousuke's passion with equal force. And then Haruka knew. He could feel it in his gut, all around him. Sousuke belonged to him. He belonged to Sousuke. No matter what, no matter where, nothing could tear them apart. Not even each other.

Haruka felt that no matter what, he could only ever feel like this about Sousuke. Breaking away, he looked Sousuke in the eyes, eyes flitting away then back. Gathering up his courage, he said something he had said to Sousuke a hundred times before, but this time those words actually felt like they meant something.

"I love you."

Sousuke stared at Haruka, saying nothing. At first, Haruka felt unsure, but eventually Sousuke said back, "I love you, too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, thanks for reading!
> 
> Haha, I didn't reveal wait Kisumi told Makoto JUST YET, because I like to keep you guys on edge. I'm trying not to rush anything but at the same time I feel like this is really picking up. 
> 
> But as always, leave comments, suggestions, criticism anything. 
> 
> And you can also find me at my tumblr, mahou-shouujo.
> 
> Thanks again guys!


	7. Red Dragons

Makoto sat on the floor of his apartment, head in his lap. Makoto had finally, after a few hours, given up and brought himself and Kisumi back to his apartment. No sooner than Makoto had parked his car, Kisumi had hopped out and onto his bike, driving off.

Makoto chuckled, and thought to himself,   _What a night._

Everything from him and Kisumi's night kept replaying in his mind. His chest felt heavy and his anxiety seemed to be sitting right next to him, as if it was an actual corporeal being.

"Haru...Haru..."

_Kisumi sat across from Makoto, and tapped his fingers on the table. Makoto looked at him, biting his lip, saying, "Okay. We're here at my place. Tell me now."_

_Pursing his lips, Kisumi said, "I'm just thinking of where to start."_

_Leaning in, he tapped the table and said, "How bout this. You tell me everything you know about Sousuke and Haruka."_

_Makoto furrowed his brow in thought, and shrugged. Just then he realized the lack of knowledge he actually had on his supposed best friend. The truth was, he knew very little about the extent of Haruka and Sousuke's relationship. He had met Sousuke a few times the first time, but never really spoke to him. All Makoto knew was that Haruka was absolutely infatuated with him, and Makoto trusted Haruka's ability to judge a person with very little information._

_Then when Sousuke left, Haruka become even more recluse than he actually was. Makoto had tried to coax Haruka into talking about his feelings instead of shutting them away, but Haruka didn't want to and Haruka was extremely stubborn._

_Ashamed, Makoto blushed, and said sheepishly, "I d-don't."_

_Kisumi sighed and shook his head. "Okay then. What do you know about Sousuke?"_

_Again Makoto shook his head, saying, "No-Nothing."_

_Kisumi rubbed his hands against his temples and said, slightly irritated, "Do you know anything?"_

_Looking down, Makoto fiddled with his thumbs.  Kisumi nodded slowly, and said, "I guess I'll just start at the beginning."_

_Kisumi then began to tell Makoto everything he knew about Sousuke. Apparently  Sousuke left his house when he was seventeen, wandering from city to city. He had minor run ins with the law, and was a scared kid most of the time. Eventually he met a group of bikers that took him in, teaching him to survive._

_He then went on to get his own bike and meet Rin. Then Kisumi. That was almost three years ago. That was around the same time Sousuke got into some sketchy stuff. He had started gambling, and a few more arrests._

_Finally, another biker gang chased them out of the city, and they wound up here. There Sousuke met Haruka. But then they caught word that the other gang, an obnoxious bunch lead by an arrogant redhead, were out of the city. They headed back to the city._

_But then things got really messy. The other gang came back and the two groups clashed. Sousuke's bunch lost and they were on the run. Word was that Seijuuro, leader of the other gang wanted Sousuke dead. And that Sousuke being with Haruka was dangerous._

_"Wait wait wait. If Sousuke knows that he could be endangering Haruka, then why is he doing this?!"_

_Kisumi had an exasperated look on his face, and shrugged. "I honestly don't know. He's not rash, you know. I think maybe he felt bad."_

_"Okay, but wanting to relieve yourself of guilt doesn't make endangering somebody okay!"_

_Kisumi looked hard at Makoto. He thought about Makoto's comment, and responded, "Okay, yeah. But if you weren't sure what was going to happen next, wouldn't you want to set all your wrongs right?"_

Makoto sighed and rubbed his eyes. On one hand he couldn't blame Sousuk but at the same time, Haruka was his bestfriend and he absolutely couldn't let anything bad happen to him. Worst of all, he had no idea where Haruka even was. And it didn't help that he just kept replaying the events over and over in his head.

And something about the love comment Kisumi made. He didn't love Haruka. Couldn't. They were best friends, nothing more. It nonetheless rubbed him the wrong way. 

Makoto had a dull pain in his head, and laid down on the floor. He always had problems with stressful situations, blaming it on his affability or maybe even simplicity. Pretty soon, fatigue finally overcame anything else he was feeling and he succumbed to it.

* * *

 Rin stood at the counter of a drugstore, looking at the selection of cigarettes they had. He sucked his teeth in disappointment at the meager selection but finally decided on a pack. He handed the cashier a crumpled bill, and had already lit a cigarette before stepping out of the store. Gou and Aiichirou stood at their bikes, Aiichirou looking tired, Gou looking annoyed.

The minute Rin made eye contact with his sister, she began nagging him, "Seriously?! That's the important thing you had to get?"

Rolling his eyes, he countered, "Yeah, sis. You know I'm cranky when I've gone too long without a smoke."

Gou huffed and crossed her arms, mumbling, "You're cranky no matter what. Cigarettes can't make you less awful."

Opening his mouth to snap at her, Aiichirou interrupted, "Guys. Not now! Seriously Rin, we've been out all night. First we couldn't find Sousuke, then Kisumi. I'm tired."

Aiichirou stared pleadingly at Rin, knowing that Rin had a soft spot for him. A soft spot he didn't even have for his sister. Crossing his arms, Rin growled, "Fine. We can go back."

Smiling, Aiichirou said, "And who knows! Sousuke and Kisumi could be back at the room."

Rin smiled slightly, and rustled Aiichirou's hair. "Oi, let's go."

The trio got on there bikes and began riding out. The three rode through the town, making alot of noises, and attracting alot of attention. As they drove past a bar, Rin was alerted by the presence of multiple bikes lined outside it. It wasn't like they hadn't seen bikes here before, but these were different. Rin could never forget those bikes. The gaudy yellow and the red dragon. 

To most people, it would mean nothing, but to Rin, it meant one thing, _They're here to kill us._ _  
_

Revving his engine loudly, he said, "Gou, Ai. Go back to the motel _now._ If Kisumi's there, tell him to stay put."

"Where are you going?" Gou asked, alarmed by his sudden intensity.

"I have to find Sousuke. We have to go. Soon."

* * *

 Sousuke and Haruka rode back into the town, Sousuke offering to take Haruka home. Haruka's adrenaline rush had finally died down, and Sousuke drove him back. Sousuke watched him walk inside his apartment, and smiled.

The perfect night.

Sousuke was driving on the main road when he nearly crashed into Rin. Drifting to a stop, he shouted, "Rin! The hell is wrong with you?!"

Rin panted and glared at Sousuke, "Bastard, I've been looking for you all damn night!"

Sousuke looked away and said, "I-I was busy."

Rolling his eyes, Rin hissed, "Okay, well while you were too busy playing Romeo and Kisumi was off doing who knows what, I actually came across something important."

"Okay. Tell me."

Rin locked eyes with Sousuke and said, "Mikoshiba. He's here."

Sousuke's brow twitched and he stammered, "What? How? No, that can't be."

Rin nodded vigorously and said, "Well it is. I saw their bikes. Yellow with a red dragon on them."

Hitting the front of his bike, Sousuke shouted, "Dammit! Shit! Let's go Rin. Now."

The two of them raced back to the motel, parking their bikes. Jumping off their bikes, they rushed inside the rooms. Immediately Gou, Aiichirou, and Kisumi stood up.  Kisumi immediately picked up that something was wrong, and asked, "What? What happened?"

Rin looked at the three, then Sousuke, and announced, "We have to go."

Sousuke raised his eyebrows and protested, "No! Wait, we can't!"

Rin looked at everybody in the room, then Sousuke and said, "Sou, we have to go. They're here."

Kisumi held up his hands and said, "Woah woah,  _who's_ here?"

Sousuke huffed, then exhaled, and said, "Mikoshiba and his gang. B-But we can face them. We can take them." 

A contemplative look crossed Kisumi's face, and he said, "No. We can't. Rin's right, we gotta go."

Running a hand through his hair, Sousuke shouted, "No!"

Rin held out his hand and said, calmly, "Sousuke. Staying here isn't going to help anybody. Especially not Haruka."

Kisumi chuckled, and said, "Yeah. Haruka only makes things more complicated."

Sousuke rubbed his mouth, and pain shot across his face. Rin looked genuinely sorry for his friend, but insisted, "Sousuke. I'm sorry. We _have_ to go."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okie dokie guys. Here's another chapter guys. I might be slower in posting because school's starting up again, but I promise to try to update at least weekly, or at the most biweekly.
> 
> Haha, well, what goes up comes back down, and sadly, I have to say that Haruka and Sousuke's relationship is no exception.
> 
> Also, I wrote this chapter while listening to ssaruhiko's souharu playlist on tumblr. It was really good and now I really want to be their friend.
> 
> Anyways, thanks for reading. As always feel free to leave whatever you want and you can always contact me on tumblr.


	8. Alive

Sousuke stood in the shower, water running on his back. Goosebumps sprouted along his arms as the cold water snaked down his back. As the water slowly warmed, Sousuke tilted his head back, letting the water hit his face. As steam rose around him, the peacefulness of the shower helped alleviate some of his stress. Sighing, he splashed water onto his face and shook his head. Steam rose around him and Sousuke let go for a brief moment, worry free.

Of course, his troubles were all too big to just go away. And they only allowed him a brief respite before snapping him back to reality.

It had been two days since Rin had given his heartfelt speech on the great peril the group faced. Sousuke, however, decided against making any hasty decisions on behalf that Rin was overdramatic, and Seijuuro could be here for any reason, and perhaps he had come here without malicious intentions. And Sousuke was definitely not looking to start any _senseless_ drama.

As the water ran, Sousuke closed his eyes and allowed for himself to be enveloped in darkness. The solace the shower offered soon faded as he was made aware of shouting and slamming doors and a particularly obnoxious voice yelling for him to get out of the shower.

Sousuke shut the water off and sighed, before reaching for a towel. He moved lethargically around the bathroom, lastly drying himself slowly. The rapping on the door got louder and somehow he could feel aggression emanating from the other side. Huffing, he opened the door, Rin almost falling into the bathroom.

Looking Rin up and down, Sousuke said brusquely, "If you needed a turn in the bathroom you can just say so."

For a second Rin's face almost turned as red as his hair, and he snarled, "I don't  _need_ to use the bathroom jackass. You said to wait for your decision  _two_ days ago. It's been two days!"

Sousuke raised an eyebrow and said, nonchalantly, "Two days huh. Unfortunate."

" _Sousuke I-,"_ Rin shouted, before calming down, "Sousuke, I think that you should maybe take this a little more seriously."

"Fine...What's Kisumi's opinion?"

Rin crossed his arms and twitched his nose. Shrugging he said, "Kisumi has been throwing himself at some guy this entire time. I doubt he's gonna take this seriously."

"Then why should I?"

Rin squinted his eyes and stuck his nose up. Rin knew what he wanted to say, and Sousuke dared him to say it. Sucking his teeth, Rin said, "Mikoshiba never tried to kill Kisumi.  _Directly."_

Sousuke grumbled and Rin began walking in a circle around Sousuke, he traced one of his fingers along Sousuke's back and said, lightly, "Or do you not remember how you got this?"

His finger landed on a jagged scar on Sousuke's back. Sousuke jerked away from him, and said, "Rin, you're such a bitch sometimes."

"Because I'm right?"

Sousuke squinted his eyes and considered taking a swing at the redhead. But Rin was right. Sousuke was being too light-hearted about this. 

 _I still need some time,_ he thought. Huffing, he said, "Yes because you're right. Go find Kisumi. We need to talk."

Rin smirked and walked out the door, throwing his hands up. "That's all I wanted!"

Sousuke watched Rin walk to his bike, and then shut the door, "Stupid bitch."

Shaking his head, he threw the towel down, and began rummaging for something clean to wear.

* * *

"I told you to stop following me here. You're going to get me in trouble," Makoto whined from behind the counter at Golden Touch. Kisumi sat at the counter drinking a shake. He had almost been like Makoto's shadow, which weirded Makoto out. Now that Haruka was no longer employed there, another fryer was hired and Makoto rarely saw the grill anymore. 

Kisumi frowned and stirred his drink. Pouting exaggeratively, he said, "But Mako, I'm not even doing anything."

Makoto chuckled uneasily and said, "Yet! A-And don't call me that."

Smirking, Kisumi ran a hand through his hair, then asked, "If I sit here, right, and do  _nothing_ can I stay here?

Makoto bit his lip and said, "I d-don't know, I think-"

Kisumi leaned over the counter and in close. He batted his eyelashes and whispered, "Come on, beefcake. There's no way I'd make trouble. Not with those guns."

Makoto blushed bright red, pulling the sleeves of his shirt down in vain, and stammered, "J-Just sit down, okay."

As the bright-haired man sat down, the doors to the diner flew open. Rin stood panting in the door, looking really tired and slightly annoyed. Kisumi smirked and shouted, "Rin! Over here!"

Rin walked over and grabbed Kisumi by his shirt, growling, "Idiot! Where have you been?"

Kisumi place a hand on Rin's chest and said, seriously, "What's going on?"

Looking Makoto up and down, Rin leaned in and began whispering furiously. Kisumi whispered back something, something irritating probably, because Rin grabbed Kisumi and dragged him out the door, mumbling obscenities under his breath. Kisumi blushed and waved back to Makoto, saying "B-Bye! I'll see you later, okay!"

Makoto hid his face in his hands and shook his head. As the motorcycles drove out of the parking lot, Mr. Sugimoto came out of the office, shouting, "Makoto! Goofing off again, huh?!"

* * *

  _Knock. Knock._

Haruka lay on the floor of his apartment, looking at the door. Makoto had told Haruka he couldn't just lay in bed all day, and Haruka decided that he wouldn't. Instead he would lay on the floor.

He was numb to everything, including the knocking at the door which got progressively more aggressive. When the knocking finally ceased, Haruka finally perked up at the shouting of Sousuke outside the door.

"Nanase! I know you're in there! Open this damn door."

Haruka got up, his left leg asleep, and stumbled to the door. Opening it, Sousuke stood there, staring at him, like Haruka had disappointed him or something. Haruka's moved his hair out of his eyes, and began, "Sousuke?"

Sousuke stepped in and wrapped his arms around him, holding him tight. Quietly, he whispered, "I love you. I love you so much."

Haruka returned the phrase, but something felt wrong. Haruka broke away, and asked, "Sousuke? Is everything okay?"

Sousuke smiled and said, "Yeah. Yeah. I can't just come see the person I love?"

Haruka shook his head, and said, "You and I both know that's not you."

"Haruka..."

Haruka's heart felt suddenly heavy. He knew Sousuke was about to say something bad and he knew that he wouldn't be able to take it.

Holding out one hand, he said, "Sousuke. Don't."

He also knew Sousuke wasn't the secretive type.

"Haruka I need to leave."

It felt like a knife had been driven into Haruka's chest, and he found it hard to breathe. He stepped away from Sousuke, and Sousuke stepped towards him. Tears sat on the brink of Haruka's eyes and he thought that he was going to die.

"Haruk-"

"Sousuke stop! Leave me alone!"

Sousuke reached out, but Haruka jumped back, bumping against the wall. "Get away!"

Trying to be calm, Sousuke said, "Just listen. Haruka, please?"

Haruka tried to move past him, but Sousuke placed his arms on the wall trapping him. Haruka flung a finger into Sousuke's face, "You're an asshole, Sousuke. I don't want to listen to  _anything_ you have to say."

As Sousuke tried to talk, Haruka began making any noise he could to drown him out. Finally, Sousuke lost his calm, and shouted, "Listen, dammit!"

Haruka got quiet and looked at Sousuke.

Panting, Sousuke, said, "I'm leaving, Haruka. But I want you to come with me."

Haruka brushed a tear from his face and said, "You want me to go with you?"

Sousuke laughed and said, "Yeah."

"B-But where would we go? What would we do-"

Grabbing Haruka's face, Sousuke leaned in and kissed Haruka. Haruka was initially taken aback, but returned the kiss, wrapping his arms around Sousuke's neck. Sousuke picked up Haruka, pressing him against the wall, as Haruka wrapped his legs around the tall brunet. 

Breaking away, Sousuke smirked, and panted, "We can go anywhere. And do _anything._ But there's no way in hell I'm leaving you this time."

Haruka touched his forehead to Sousuke's and whispered, "I love you."

And for the first time in awhile, Haruka didn't feel as empty.

Haruka Nanase felt truly alive.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaaggggghh.
> 
> That took too long and probably wasn't worth it. Anyways, here it is guys.
> 
> Okay, so this is a little secret guys, but next chapter may have some smut mixed in with more drama, so stay tuned goons.
> 
> Anyway, leave your comments, concerns, news and whatnot.
> 
> Thanks kiddies!


	9. Shattered

_"Aah. A-Ah."_

Sousuke sat on Haruka's bed, Haruka kneeling in front of him. Sousuke gripped Haruka's hair, as Haruka's head bobbed up and down. Haruka came up, smacking his lips. Grabbing Sousuke's shaft and moving his hand up and down, he looked at the brunet who was beet red, and smirked, licking his lips.

"Everything okay?"

Sousuke held up a hand to his mouth and said, " _Aah. Stop playing..."_

Haruka leaned back down and gently blew on Sousuke's head, sending shivers up the larger man's spine. Slowly, Haruka stuck his tongue out and licked Sousuke's penis slowly up and down.  Sousuke tightened his grip on Haruka's head and forced it down on him. 

Pressing the head of Sousuke's dick against the roof of his mouth, Haruka moved his head up and down sensually. Finally, Haruka came up, gasping loudly for air.

Sousuke grinned, and said, "Warning, choking hazard."

Haruka shook his head and said, "Yeah, whatever."

Standing up, Sousuke took his shirt off and then his jeans. Haruka did the same, and as he began taking his shirt off, Sousuke stood behind him.

Haruka leaned back, butt resting on Sousuke's groin. Sousuke pushed Haruka onto the bed and straddled him. Haruka could feel Sousuke's member stabbing him, and moaned lightly.

Sousuke planted his hands on the bed and entered Haruka.

Grabbing at the sheets, Haruka almost screamed. Sousuke leaned forward and wrapped his hand around Haruka's mouth and said, "Hey, calm down. These walls are thin as paper."

As Sousuke released, Haruka panted, "S-Sorry."

Sousuke thrust into him over and over, each time leaving Haruka's body wracked with delight. Haruka bit into the pillow, as Sousuke leaned in, planting kisses along the nape of his neck. Haruka panted softly and Sousuke grunted. The larger man bit Haruka on the lip and whispered, "You're so good.  _Mmn._ "

Sousuke spun Haruka so the two were facing each other, and leaned in, kissing Haruka hard on the mouth. Haruka wrapped his arms around Sousuke's neck, and hugged the brunet's torso with his legs. Sousuke sped up, going faster and faster. His breathing got erratic, and suddenly he clenched up.

Haruka felt warmth all inside him, and Sousuke collapsed on top of him. Haruka slapped at the larger man, grunting, "H-Heavy..."

Making a sound of apology, Sousuke rolled over, and looked at the ceiling. He put his hands up behind his head, whistling. Haruka rolled over and rested his head against Sousuke's broad chest.

Sighing, he said, "The last time we did that was the night before you left..."

Sousuke sighed and wrapped an arm around Haruka , saying, "I know."

The pair lay in silence, until Haruka broke the silence, "At that time, I had never been in love with someone as much as I had been in love with you."

Biting his lip, Sousuke closed his eyes, saying, "Yeah."

Haruka sat up and looked at Sousuke, " _Yeah?_ That's all you have to say? We're never intimate about these things."

Rolling his eyes, Sousuke said, "Yeah, well, I'm not good at talking about this stuff. Sorry I'm not good enough."

Frowning, Haruka slapped Sousuke on the stomach. "That's not what I'm saying."

Closing his eyes again, Sousuke rubbed his temples, and said, "What do you want me to say Haruka?"

"How did you feel about me?"

Sousuke opened his eyes, and looked long and hard at Haruka. Finally, he said, "I loved you like nobody I had ever loved before."

"But you still left?"

Chuckling, Sousuke said, "I guess I'm an idiot."

Haruka leaned in whispering, "The biggest idiot," before kissing Sousuke on the mouth, moving closer to him.

* * *

"Aagh! Where the  _hell_ is Sousuke?!!"

Rin paced back and forth in the motel room, steaming.

Kisumi held a book in his hand, and every now and then looked up from it to see if Rin had calmed down any. However, Kisumi was well aware of the fact that Rin wasn't the calm type.

When Rin's frantic pacing became too much to handle, Kisumi said, "Okay! Stop! You're making me anxious!"

Rin shot Kisumi an incredulous look and said, "We have to talk about something serious with Sou and he's off doing who know's what!"

Kisumi scoffed and said, "You mean who knows who."

Raising an eyebrow, Rin asked, "What's that mean?"

Kisumi shrugged and said, "Nothing. But we both know that Sousuke isn't birdwatching. Speaking of which, where's Aiichirou and Gou?"

Rin waved his hand dismissively and said, "Don't worry. They're at some food place. That's the only places they really go."

Kisumi nodded, and returned to his book. Rin stopped pacing and eyed Kisumi. Pursing his lips, he said, "Am I the only one who is the slightest bit worried? I mean, if everybody else is okay with just playing around and possibly dying then I guess I should be too, right?"

Rolling his eyes and huffing, Kisumi closed his book and crossed his legs, then asked, "Don't you think you're being a slight bit overdramatic?"

Rin scoffed and said, "Dramatic? Kisumi, they  _literally_ ran us out of the city right  _after_ they stabbed Sousuke in his shoulder! Th-They're dangerous!"

Closing his eyes, Kisumi rubbed his brow and said, "Rin that was awhile ago, and alot's changed. First of all, we lost all our members to them. Secondly, we didn't run, Sousuke agreed to leave due to, um,  _inflexible circumstances._ "

Raising his eyebrows, the redhead asked, "Inflexible circumstances? You mean making him decide when there was a knife in his shoulder blade?"

Rustling his hair, Kisumi nodded and said, "Okay, yeah. The circumstances were undesirable,  _but_ Sousuke still agreed, and we literally offer no threat and we don't have anything they want."

Throwing his hands up, Rin shouted, "How can you be sure?! How can you know, Kisumi?!"

Biting his tongue, Kisumi growled, "Fine drama queen! We'll just wait for Sousuke."

"Yes, let's wai-"

The duo's conversation was interrupted by the opening of their motel room door, Sousuke standing its frame. As soon as Rin saw him, he practically leaped at him, shouting, "There you are jackass! You told me to get Kisumi and then you just ran off! He's not thinking clearly!"

Sousuke shoved Rin away and said, smirking, "Sorry Rin. I got  _held up_."

Kisumi shot him a look, and Rin continued, "Okay but we don't have time for that. We should leave."

"Okay, but like I said, there's literally zero problem with us being here."

Turning around, he shouted, "They stabbed Sousuke. They're crazy. Are you understanding?"

Sousuke raised his hands and said, "Rin, Kisumi's right. There isn't a big problem. There'd only be a problem if we started up one."

Rin crossed his arms and shook his head.

Sousuke reached out his hand and said, "Come on Rin. Say it. There's no problem."

Rin looked at his feet, rubbing the toes of his shoe against the floor, and said, "I need some air."

Kisumi and Sousuke looked at each other, as Rin stormed out of the room. Kisumi nodded to the door, gesturing for Sousuke to say something or do something. Sousuke attempted to follow Rin, but the screech of a bike leaving the lot let him know that there was nothing to do but let Rin vent.

As Sousuke turned around, Kisumi shook his head, saying, "You should've gone after him, Sousuke. You know how he is."

Sousuke crossed his arms and said, "You're lecturing me too know?"

Kisumi tilted his head and said, "I'm right. I'm always right. And you know I am. What if he does something stupid?"

"He wouldn't."

Kisumi smiled sarcastically and shrugged, saying, "That takes care of that then."

"What's your deal?"

Looking the brunet up and down, Kisumi said, "Maybe Rin is right. Maybe we are in some trouble. But you're also distracted. If push comes to shove then are you going to be able to separate yourself from the current  _situation._ "

Sousuke looked down, mumbling, "I don't know wh-"

"Don't. Don't play dumb. You know I sure as hell don't."

Sousuke, irritated, began to walk to the door, saying over his shoulder, "Everything's under control,  _okay?_ "

Kisumi chuckled and said to himself, as Sousuke slammed the door, "Well I'm sure that I'll sleep sounder with that lapse in your judgement under control."

* * *

"St-Stop that! Hey!"

Aiichirou sat across from Gou, whining and flailing as she threw french fries at him.

Blowing a bubble in her mouth, she said, "Gee, Ai. You're no fun, huh?"

Aiichirou blushed and stammered, "I am fun! I just like staying tidy, that's all."

 _"I just like staying tidy, that's all,_ " Gou mocked. Taking a french fry and biting it, rather than using it as a projectile, she said, "Have you noticed anything off about Sousuke lately? And not just him, but all three of them?"

Aiichirou mixed ketchup around, absent-mindedly, and said, "What do you mean?"

Leaning forward on her elbows, Gou said, "I don't know. They're just all acting wonky. And like more so than usual. Like, today when I told Rin we were heading out, he waved us off without the slightest lecture on behaving myself."

Shrugging, Aiichirou said, "Maybe he's trusting you more?"

Shaking her head, Gou said, "No. Something's definitely up."

Aiichirou stopped what he was doing and said, suddenly coming to a realization, "Well, now that you mention it, Sousuke has been kind of MIA lately. And Kisumi."

"Yeah, that's exactly what I mean. But my question is, why?"

Aiichirou leaned forward and said, "Maybe it has something to do with what's their names showing up in town."

Gou contemplated this, then said, "Yeah okay, but they hardly pay any attention to us."

"Okay bu-" Aiichirou stopped mid-sentence, suddenly wide eyed, then continued, "Speak of the devil. Here comes one now."

The two looked at a young man, a teenager really, who walked into the bar. He flashed a wide smile at the two and winked. His bright eyes didn't seem so bright considering the brighter red hair. Looking around, he walked over to their table and grinned. Pulling up a chair, he said, cockily, "Hey hey hey. What're you two ladies sitting around here all by yourself for?"

Gou bit her lips and looked at Aiichirou trying not to laugh. Aiichirou just stared at the boy, mouth agape.

The boy picked up on the two and sat back, confused. "Wh-What did I say? Was that two forward?"

Gou began wheezing and coughing, before gasping, "Oh my god. Aiichirou you're such a pretty lady!"

Aiichirou leaned forward and whispered, "Gou that's not funny. Please stop."

The boy scratched his head and said, "I'm so confused..."

Smirking, Gou said, "Listen stud. Ladyface right here is actually a guy. I'm the only  _lady_ here."

"B-But how come you're so cute!?" The boy asked, pointing at Aiichirou.

Aiichirou blushed, holding his face in his palms, and Gou said, "You're a riot, man. What's your name?"

"I'm Momotarou Mikoshiba. You can call me Momo, though."

Gou and Aiichirou both looked at each other and then back to Momotarou. Aiichirou looked at him and asked, "Mikoshiba?"

"Yeah. What's your guy's names?"

The two looked at each other, then Gou said, "I'm Gou. He's Ai."

"Well, Gou and Ai, have you guys ever rode on a motorcycle?"

The two chuckled, Gou replying, "Yes we have. In fact-"

Aiichirou gasped and diverted Gou's attention to a figure approaching them quickly. Rin was practically gliding across the floor with a furious look in his eyes, and he was staring straight at Momotarou.

" _Oi!"_

* * *

Haruka sat on the bed anxiously. He kept looking from the clock to the door and then back to the clock.

After Sousuke told him about planning to leave with him, Haruka had almost forgotten about Makoto. After long contemplation, Haruka realized that Makoto wasn't going to leave this place until he had enough money to move to a university, that he was basically planning on leaving his bestfriend, and that he didn't know how he would tell Makoto.

An eternity passed when the door to the apartment finally opened. Makoto stood in the doorway in the Golden Touch uniform, looking completely exhausted. The brunet spotted Haruka and he smiled, humming, "Haru-chan. How are you?"

Haruka stood up, clenching his hands into fists. His palms were sweaty making him uncomfortable. His anxiety rose in his throat and he felt like it was going to overwhelm him. Gulping, he said, "Makoto, we need to talk."

Dismissively, Makoto said, "If it's about finding another job don't rush yourself, Haru. Take your time."

"Makoto it's not about that."

Makoto yawned, and rubbed his chest. Blinking slowly, he said, "I'm sorry Haruka. I'm just really tired. Can't we talk about this in the morning?"

Haruka gathered all his courage, then said, "Makoto I'm leaving."

Makoto seemed to be stirred by this sudden announcement and he tilted his head, asking, "What?"

Haruka stepped forward and said, "I'm going to leave with Sousuke, Makoto. And I know that you're not going to want to come."

Grabbing Haruka's arms, Makoto shook him saying, "Haruka you can't just leave! Wh-What am I going to do!?"

Not wanting to cry, Haruka looked away, and uttered, "Save up and go to university. Achieve all those goals and dreams you made up."

Makoto pleaded with Haruka, tripping over his words, "B-But we're supposed to do those things together! We- I mean we made those goals together! Haru, please!"

"Makoto, I can't. It's not what I want."

Suddenly, Makoto grabbed Haruka by his face and pulled him in. His lips locked with Haruka's and Haruka was taken aback. He tried to break away but Makoto was always stronger than him, always had been.

"Mm! Mako!"

Makoto broke away, and said, "We're supposed to be together.  _I love you."_

Haruka felt the tears stream down his face as Makoto pulled him in again and felt like just when everything was going to be set right, it all shattered into tiny, irretrievable pieces.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay guys. Enough drama and smut for you?
> 
> Yep, so we're looking at fifteen to twenty chapters, tbh, so thanks for all that have been sticking with me and this story,
> 
> As always leave whatever you want and you can always contact me on tumblr at mahou-shouujo.
> 
> Stay tuned goons!


	10. Unlovable

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING - SELF HARM/CUTTING
> 
> Just giving fair warning, that this chapter has some implied former self harm/self harm. I hate to spoil but I'd hate even more to make anybody uncomfortable so just a heads up guys!

Haruka sat on the bathroom floor feeling empty. The cold, hard linoleum just barely cast a reflection, yet he could see his weariness. His bloodshot eyes were complemented with dark circles under them, and he felt ancient. His hair was matted, and his skin shivered. 

Sitting up, he adjusted his hair, and wiped his face.  _  
_

_Stop being so pathetic._

Surges of self-loathe came over Haruka and he half realized that they were true. 

The time he had spent on the bathroom floor had been very reflective, and he had come to the conclusion that his life was truly a mess. He also was made aware that it was all by his doing. That he just let it happen, let it spiral, let it crash, and now sat idle on the floor as it burned in front of him.

He felt the urge to stand up and leave, but as he went to stand, he stopped, and lay back down.

_Knock. Knock._

_"Haru?"_

Makoto had kissed him earlier that night, and since then, Haruka had barricaded himself inside the bathroom. The brunet had come back periodically to tentatively speak to Haruka through the door.

"Haru, I'm s-sorry about earlier."

Haruka could practically see the blush on Makoto's face.

"P-Please. Open the door, Haruka."

Haruka sighed, standing. His knees shook, and he felt all the blood rushing into his legs. He place a hand on the shiny door handle and unlocked it, opening it slightly. Makoto had stepped back, and stood rubbing his neck embarrassedly. His blush was exactly as Haruka had imagined it, exactly where he imagined it. It took Makoto awhile to say anything, and Haruka had suddenly found himself unable to speak.

"Please don't be mad."

The raven-haired man smiled softly, croaking, "It's fine. It's okay."

Makoto looked at him, and Haruka felt a pang of guilt, knowing the sorrowful look Makoto cast was due to him. Makoto, wordless, nodded and walked away. Haruka watched him walk away, flinching as Makoto shut his door, though it made no sound.

Next thing Haruka knew was that he was walking through the streets, feeling dizzy, feeling empty.

He began humming softly, trying to distract himself.

He was noted by the rev of an engine, and a motorcycle that appeared next to him. Sousuke sat on the bike, raising an eyebrow. Haruka shook his head, not wanting Sousuke to press.

The biker looked at Haruka for awhile, then said, "Getting on?"

Getting behind Sousuke, Haruka sat on the bike, wrapping his arms around Sousuke. He laid a cheek against the comforting leather of Sousuke's jacket and said, "Let's go."

Starting to slowly move, Sousuke asked, "Where to?"

Haruka closed his eyes for a long time before answering, "Anywhere."

* * *

People gasped and screamed as two people fought in the bar. Two redheads, one slightly older, were punching each other while a girl and a boy tried desperately to break them up.

Rin grabbed a fistful of Momotarou's shirt, and used it to hold onto, while his fist met Momotarou's face. Squirming free, Momotarou wiped at the blood trickling down his face, and panted. Rin lunged at him, but the younger boy was quick, and dove out of the way. The older redhead attempted to grab him but that only lead to Momotarou's teeth meeting Rin's arm, breaking the skin.

The two shouted and cursed, and knocked things over, but didn't stop. Aiichirou was stunned, and Gou was screaming at him to stop.

Suddenly, a hand grabbed Rin by the back of the shirt and picked him up off the ground. Rin instinctively went to swing, but stopped, as his second assailant was only Kisumi.

Kisumi looked down at him, wide-eyed, and shouted, "What the  _hell_ are you doing?!"

Rin wiped the blood from his busted lip and said, "He was messing with Gou and Ai! I was defending them!"

Kisumi ran a hand through his hair, and shouted, furious, " _You were so angry that you went and started shit with them!? What the hell is wrong with you?!"_ _  
_

Rin flung a finger in the other boy's face, and shouted, " _Shut up! You don't understand anything!"_

Kisumi pushed Rin and said, "You don't understand anything! You've made a bigger mess of this already huge mess."

Turning to Gou and Aiichirou, Kisumi barked, "Get back to the motel. Pack  _everything._ "

He then went over to Momotarou, and knelt down beside the adolescent. Tentatively, he asked, "Mikoshiba? Are you okay?"

Kisumi helped the younger boy up, and grabbed a couple napkins from the table and handed them to him. He glared at Rin, who glared back, and kept apologizing to the boy. After awhile, the door slam open and a young man walked in, livid. His eyes immediately landed on Momotarou, and he roared, " _Momo!"_

Kisumi moved away, and him and Rin stood up. The two looked at each other and at the young man. They both knew who it was, there was no way they couldn't. Seijuuro Mikoshiba.

Seijuuro looked at the two and then at his younger brother before shouting, "You two! You did this!?"

Rin held his hands up and said, "Look, we're leaving okay?"

Seijuuro's face turned red and he fumbled with his words, "Y-You-"

The two began to slowly inch towards the door, neither taking their eyes off the redhead biker. Seijuuro reached into his pocket, and at the first glint of steel, Kisumi shouted, "Rin!"

Rin noticed as soon as Kisumi said it, and the two began to sp-

_Bang!_

* * *

 

Makoto sat on the floor of his room. He grabbed the cigarette case from his bed and pulled out a single cigarette. He tapped the bottom of the cigarette against the floor lightly, and lit it. Holding it in his mouth, he breathed out the smoke, watching the wisps float to the ceiling, only to dissipate.

Earlier, kissing Haruka seemed like the right thing to do. He had always wanted to and when Haruka announced that he was suddenly leaving, Makoto decided that he wasn't going to miss his chance.

What Makoto didn't think about was Haruka's reaction. He had expected Haruka to have some sort of epiphany and realize that the two of them truly belonged together. Not that he was going to lock himself away. 

 _Maybe I was too selfish,_ Makoto thought,  _No. I'm never the selfish one. I just wanted what I wanted for once._

Makoto ran his hands through his hair, screaming through clenched teeth. His head hurt, hurt so badly. Everything hurt so badly.

_What if he hates me now? Damn it, damn it, damn it! Worthless. I'm worthless..._

Black.

Makoto suddenly realized that he was standing in front of the mirror, looking at himself. On the counter was a razor, his razor. He hadn't used it in years, but everything hurt so badly, and he just wanted release.

It's not like he hadn't done it before, and he knew his limits. 

_Just a little one. A nick, really. To let it all out. Not to kill myself or anything._

One half of him knew that this was wrong, that it wasn't healthy. The other half wanted it bad. Screamed that he was worthless, unlovable, to go ahead because nobody really cared. If Haruka couldn't love him back, nobody would. He had stopped because he had Haruka, because everything was okay, just the two of them. But Sousuke had careened back into Haruka's life and convinced Haruka to love him. He had stopped because Haruka was with him. And now he wasn't. And here Makoto was.

Tears fell down the brunet's face, but he didn't break down. Didn't sob. Just shed silent tears.

_Unlovable._

His hands shook and he reached for the razor and he held it against his skin.

* * *

Sousuke and Haruka lay, holding each other. Haruka had his leg wrapped around Sousuke's torso, and took deep whiffs of Sousuke's scents. Sousuke looked down at Haruka and frowned. 

Looking at Sousuke, the smaller man said, "Fix your face."

Chuckling, the brunet said, "I will when you stop smelling me, weirdo."

The two laughed, and Sousuke pulled Haruka in close. The raven-haired man sighed, and said, "I love you."

"I lov-"

_WHACK!_

The motel door was suddenly slammed open, and Sousuke sat up. Gou and Aiichirou rushed inside and began to grab everything in sight, throwing it in random into bags. They barely noticed their leader, or his companion. Annoyed, Sousuke hissed, "What the hell, guys?"

Aiichirou stopped and said, "Kisumi told us to pack everything!"

As he returned to what he was doing, Sousuke asked, "What's happening?"

Gou bit her lip, saying, "Nothing good."

"Rin?"

The two both stopped and nodded.

Sousuke stood up, and Haruka asked, "What's going on?"

Sousuke began throwing things into bags too, and Haruka, now worried, asked again, "Sousuke?"

"Sou!"

The brunet turned to Haruka, and said, calmly, "It's okay. We might be in a little bit of a pinch, but it's all going to be okay."

Haruka nodded and watched dumbly as the three bikers moved around him.

Twenty minutes later, he flinched as Kisumi suddenly appeared, saying, "Sousuke! We g-gotta go!"

"Where's Rin?"

"He's outside.  _Hurry!_ "

Gou stopped what she was doing, and said, "Is my brother okay? What happened?"

Kisumi closed his eyes, and said, "We're fine. Nobody's hurt bad."

"Why would somebody be hurt badly?"

Kisumi looked at Gou and Sousuke, then said, "Seijuuro tried to kill us. Like, actually shooting at us."

Sousuke pinched his nose, and said, "Okay, everybody, let's go."

Everybody except Kisumi began walking out the door, and Sousuke turned to Haruka, saying, "You're coming with me this time."

Haruka sat, dumbstruck, and said, "R-Really?"

Sousuke held out his hand, and said, "Yeah. I'm sorry that this is all sprung on you. That you're going to have to leav-"

"It's fine!" Haruka interrupted.

Sousuke huffed and smiled, then said, "Okay. L-Let's go. Kisumi?"

Kisumi waved a hand and said, "One second. I just gotta do one last thing."

Haruka looked back for only a second, as Sousuke tugged on his hand. Then he focused on the brunet, and realized something. When the others came in, Haruka was worried that Sousuke was going to leave him again. Sousuke declaration that Haruka was coming with them lifted his spirits. He was finally leaving this dusty place. He never believed he would, not even earlier, when he declared to Makoto-

_Wait._

"What about Makoto?"

Sousuke looked at Haruka, and he could see true remorse in the brunet's eyes. "I'm sorry. There's no time."

Haruka nodded and felt a stab in his chest. And then they were on the open road, the wind blasting past him. He looked back and saw the lights of the only place he knew fading away. In one night he was saying goodbye to everything he was. Everyplace, everything, everybody. He didn't even say goodbye to his best friend. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mm, yeah. 
> 
> Okay, so I felt like the drama over these past few chapters was really forced but idk. Idk how gang/biker violence goes down because I don't go outside.
> 
> Anyway, setting change!
> 
> Also, I always felt like Makoto was a rather insecure guy, but never really dabbled much with a self harm thing, but I really felt it with him for this. That's why I wrote it for this chapter. Also, to make sure nothing is ambiguous, Makoto does NOT try to commit suicide. Just self harm. I can safely assure you that nobody will kill themselves in this story.
> 
> Okay guys, thanks for reading though. I'm sorry it took forever for me to upload, and I'll try really really really hard to update more frequently.


	11. Dust Clouds

Haruka held on tightly to Sousuke's waist like a vice, wind blowing through his hair, world racing by him like a blur. The sun bore down on the Earth, yet Haruka wasn't hot. Or he was moving too fast to truly feel the heat. He didn't care.

On the left was Rin, and the right, Gou, Aiichirou, and Kisumi. Sousuke lead their loud procession along the road, the bikes roaring, leaving huge plumes of dust and dirt behind them. Their presence dominated the road. A few cars may have driven past them, two, maybe three. But they were all lost in the cloud of smoke. In a way, the dust clouds were like his life. All up in smoke, or dust, all fading away, always settled, always secure, and then with the rev of an engine, all up and fading away.

Rin shouted something indecipherable from his bike, and pointed ahead. Haruka leaned over Sousuke and looked forward. A small town was visible in the distance. It wasn't very big, but Haruka judged that it was probably the same size as back home.

Home.

He still couldn't believe that he had really left. This was the farthest he had ever gone in his life. He didn't even know where he really was. And Makoto...

_Mako..._

Haruka felt a pang of sorrow, thinking of his best friend. He never said goodbye. And for all he knew, he'd never see him again. Over and over the events of the last few days replayed through his head. Over and over he thought of different ways he could've played the situation.

_There's nothing else I could've done. It all just happened. It's not like I had a choice._

Part of him knew this to be true. Part of him couldn't help but wonder if he was lying to himself.

Refocusing on the small town in front of him, that they were getting increasingly closer to, he asked, over the hum of engines, "Sousuke! What is this place?"

Sousuke turned his head slightly for a second, then looked back to the road, "What?"

"What is this place?" Haruka asked, louder.

"You want to stop? I guess we can stop."

"N-No! I was just-"

Sousuke revved his engine and made some gesture to the others. By this time they were at the border of the town, Brighton, a sign stated, and the engines began purring gently. Five minutes later they had all stopped, parking their bikes, stretching their limbs.

Rin ruffled his hair and yawned, "What's the deal? Why are we stopping?"

Sousuke stretched out his long arms, before resting his palm on Haruka's head. He messed with Haruka's hair, and said, "Haru wanted to stop."

All eyes landed on Haruka, and he blushed, feeling slightly embarrassed, "No, I was just asking where we were..."

Sousuke rubbed his chin and said, "Hmm, really? I could've swore-"

Seeing the blush on Haruka's face, Kisumi interrupted Sousuke, declaring, "Either way, it was a smart move. I'm starving. I need food."

Aiichirou nodded and said, "I could use a burger."

Chuckling, Gou rested her elbow on Aiichirou's shoulder and said, "I could use a smoke."

Rin clicked his teeth at her, but before he could chastise his sister's bad habits, Sousuke clapped his hands loudly, asking, "Well if we're all so hungry, let's find some food."

The group began walking on foot, Rin and Sousuke hanging towards the back. As Haruka followed the others, he couldn't help but hear Rin, in an aggravated whisper, "We're running low on money, Sou. We got a few hundred left. And we still gotta buy gas. And find some food. And the-"

Sousuke held up a hand, "I know, okay. We'll find work when we get to the city."

Rin grumbled something about hoping Sousuke knew what he was doing and that they were lucky Rin knew somebody who owed him a few favors, but Sousuke jogged forward, no longer listening. Wrapping an arm around Haruka, he asked, "You okay?"

Haruka nodded, continuing to look forward.

Sousuke grabbed his arms, and looked at him. "It's okay if you're upset. I'd be upset."

Haruka shrugged and said, "I'm a little upset okay. I didn't even say goodbye to my best friend."

Holding him tight, Sousuke said, "I know. Okay. I know and I'm sorry.  _And_ I'm gonna make it up to you."

Haruka pushed away from the brunet who was smothering him, and asked, "How?"

Sousuke smirked and his eyes took on a impish look, "I'm gonna teach you how to ride."

* * *

Makoto sat on the couch, his eyes red and bloodshot, accessorized with dark circles under his eyes. He had called in from work, claiming he was sick, and looked at the clock.

2:37.

Haruka had been gone awhile, probably with Sousuke. His Haruka. He sighed, thinking about his best friend, who also happened to be the love of his life.

He reached forward, picking up a the can of soda that lay half empty on his table. Scratching the inside of his leg, he grabbed the remote next to him and flipped through the staticky television channels. He finally settled on some show about an odd woman and her husband and leaned back. Laugh track, visual gag, pun, and the cycle repeated. Over and over and over and over, and Makoto felt his eyelids getting heavy. Heavier and heavier and heavier and dark.

When Makoto finally woke up again, it was to the sound of a laugh track. He didn't know what show.

He looked up at the clock, squinting in the dim light, and read, just barely, 9:42.

Yawning, he stretched his arms, and rubbed the back of his neck. He stood up and walked to the kitchen, his stomach rumbling quietly. 

Opening the fridge door, he squinted as the light blinded him, and looked at the meager food supply. Turning behind him, he called out, "Haruka! Are you hungry?"

Pulling out a container with old mackerel and rice, he called again, "There's mackerel. Haru?"

Makoto became curious, as he got no answer. It had been an awkward few days but surely Haruka wouldn't ignore him. Walking towards the silence, he called, quieter, "Haruka?"

He knocked tentatively on the door to Haruka's room, opening it slightly. Nothing. Opening it fully, he turned the light on to see an empty room. Makoto rubbed his head in confusion, thinking,  _Haruka said he'd be back. Maybe he's just with Sousuke._

He tried to justify reasons on why Haruka wasn't here. Haruka, like he had previously thought, could just be with Sousuke. Secondly, it was only nine forty five. 

_I shouldn't worry. Haruka's fine._

But Haruka also was one to keep his word. And if he said he was coming back, he'd come back.

Makoto sat back down on the couch, eating the fish, and tried to ease his mind. After an episode, thirty minutes of anxiety, he couldn't take it anymore.

"Haruka's supposed to be back by now. Maybe I should..."

On one hand Makoto was worried about his friend, but on the other hand he didn't want Haruka to think he was some pathetic stalker that couldn't handle rejection. A lifetime of being best friends won. Makoto got up, nearly knocking rice all over the place, and rushed to his room. He was already wearing a plain shirt and threw a flannel over it, and pulled jeans over his boxers. Frantically, he looked around for his keys, nearly running out the door.

His hands shook as he held onto the steering wheel, and he slowed down, trying to calm himself.

_It's not as serious as you think. Calm down. Calm._

It worked, slightly. He felt a little less anxious, but still had a sense of urgency. His mind racked the many places Haruka might be, the first place he decided to go to was Golden Touch.

As he pulled up to the diner, he saw a few cars outside, but no bikes. Still, he decided to go in. He walked in, looking around at the faces of the restaurant patrons. People looked at him, then back to their greasy plates of food. Makoto's boss stood behind the counter, and said, shocked, "M-Makoto?! Aren't you sick?"

Makoto didn't respond but rushed right back out, as his boss screamed something about him having to make it up with overtime. 

His next course of action was the motel.

 _Why didn't you check there from the beginning?_ He asked himself.

Once there, he suddenly felt that anxious feeling again, as he didn't see any motorcycles. He looked at the rooms 303, 304, 305, finally, 306. As he began knocking on the door, he gasped as it gently opened, never have been shut all the way. Inside the room was empty, yet the slight mess suggests people left in a hurry. Makoto scanned the room, and his eyes landed on an unassuming envelope. It's as if somebody left it there on purpose and in plain sight so he'd see it.

Looking over his shoulder, he couldn't help but wonder if the door was left open on purpose. Back to the envelope, he couldn't help but feel like something was seriously amiss, and that whatever the message inside the envelope said, it was for him.

Clearing the distance between him and it in three steps, he read his name in delicate handwriting, not Haruka's. Fumbling with the seal, he tore it off, and pulled out a letter.

  _Makoto,_

_I left this message rather quickly so I ~~do'nt~~ don't think I'll be able to explain much. We had to leave and rather ~~qiuckly~~ quickly, aaah this letters a mess. Anyways, we had to leave town and Haruka's with us. We're heading to the city. I just felt like you had a right to know. I know that this was just one huge mess. But at least we got to meet each other right? If you're ever in town, find me._

_-Kisumi_

 Makoto read the message, feeling like somebody had just hit him in the chest. He read it again, again, again, the pain never subsiding. He ran outside, and fell to his knees. His face felt hot and he was so embarrassed, so hurt. Haruka didn't even say goodbye, probably never planned on doing it. And it was his fault.

_Screw up! Screw up! It's all your fault, you worthless piece of shit! SCREW UP!  
_

Makoto leaned back, screaming into the night, up at the thousands of stars that shone down on him, highlighting his tragedy. The stars that he had always wished on to set everything right. The stars that never, not then, not now, answered his prayers.

_"Haruka!"_

* * *

"Come here, let me-"

_Smack!_

Seijuuro hit his younger brother as the smaller redhead squirmed under his grip. He was attempting to clean his brother's face, while simultaneously taking in all the damage. Around the two sat three other men and a young lady. Two guys snickered while the girl shook her head. The last boy rubbed the side of his face, contempt on his face.

Seijuuro glared at them and said, "What's funny? Minami? Iwashimizu?"

The trio quit laughing and Minami ran a hand through his long brown hair. "Nothing, boss. It's just that Uozumi here was trying to show us how to pick up chicks."

Seijuuro raised an eyebrow, asking, "And the chick was played by Chigusa?"

Uozumi rubbed his face, hissing, "Yeah. Too bad Chigusa's a bitch."

Chigusa bucked at him, making him flinch which earned a round of laughter from everybody. 

Momotarou snickered, and said, "Serves you right, Uocchi. You're always messing with people."

"Don't call me that. Besides, apparently you messed with people harder."

Waving his hand, Momotarou looked at the ground and frowned, "Whatever...I didn't even do nothing."

Seijuuro finished cleaning Momotarou's face, and dusted his hands, correcting, "Didn't do  _anything._ And you should've known better than to be messing around with the Sharks-"

"Sharks," Iwashimizu interrupted, "Really? I heard they don't even call themselves that.  _The Fighting Sharks._ Not since you ran them out of town."

The larger redhead slammed a fist down on the table, demanding silence from everybody. "Yes! Yes Iwa, but who else is here right now?!  _We are!_ "

Iwashimizu looked down, mumbling, "Yeah, but we left of our own choice..."

Rubbing his temples, Seijuuro said, "Yeah, whatever. But the point is we left."

Chigusa pointed her finger, saying, "Well you were down and out, yet you still made dumb decisions. What we need to focus on isn't no Sharks, it's not where we are, but how we're going to get back up on top. I, for one, don't appreciate being in this raggedy little dust cloud. And I was wondering when we're leaving."

Holding his hands up, Seijuuro said, "Alright. You're right. I'll think of something."

"Why does she get to talk back?"

"Because," Seijuuro snapped, "She's the only one with some sense."

As a fight began to break out, Momotarou stood up, shouting above the others, "Wait! Waaaaiiiiittttt!!! What about me?! Are we forgetting that they jumped me?! What are you going to do about that Sei?!"

"It doesn't matter," said Minami, "I heard that they skipped town soon as they grew balls. Shame."

Uozumi sucked his teeth, saying, "I think something should be done. They've been a pain in our ass long as I can remember."

"I agree with Uocchi! It's not fair! They  _jumped_ me!"

Clapping his hands, Seijuuro said, "Don't worry about that now Momo. I got a plan. A plan that'll clean up our mess, take us back to the top, and take out Sou and his little annoying gang of wimps. Three birds, one stone." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading guys! I got a few more characters believe it or not, to introduce by the end of the story. And I've been wanting to write Seijuuro's gang but I needed a way to ease them in, you know.
> 
> Anyway, like always please please please leave comments, suggestions, criticism, the works, below.
> 
> Stay tuned guys!


	12. Chelsea Hotel

Rin sat on the ground beside the road, watching the others nonchalantly converse. The heat bore down on him, and he sweated in his leather jacker. Wiping beads of sweat from his brow, he couldn't help but become irritated. Irritated at the others, but mostly with himself.

The thing Rin liked the most about riding was the open spaces, as well as the opportunity to just retreat into oneself, and think. Rin couldn't help but feel like he had really screwed up this time. He had made a big mistake and now they had to pick up everything and leave.  _Again._

Kisumi noticed Rin's distance from the group, and approached Rin. Plopping down beside him, he exclaimed, "It's so  _hot!"_

Rin just shrugged and said, "I guess."

Nodding, Kisumi looked him up and down, saying, "Sousuke is trying to get Haruka to learn how to ride a bike. Come watch?"

The redhead turned to him, and glared. Frustration in his voice, he said, "Kisumi I  _do not care._ I know that you don't give a shit about anything, but in case you haven't noticed, I really screwed up this time. Like big. And now here we are, melting in the middle of nowhere, with nowhere to go."

Kisumi leaned back, and sighed. Running a hand through his hair, he said, "Rin...come on now. You weren't  _entirely_ wrong, I mean you had your reasons. And we'll figure something out, okay? Besides, we needed to move on. Between you and me, Sousuke's looking a little  _husky._ "

Rin snorted and shook his head, chuckling at the ground. For a moment, Kisumi had succeeded in distracting him from his pity. Distractedness however, abated, and Rin was again focusing on his mistakes. Looking at Kisumi, he said, softly, "I just...I just don't want people to be mad at me, you know? Like I really thought that it was the right thing to do."

"Well then apologize to everybody."

Rin hummed in thought, and looked back at Kisumi who's smirk spread from ear to ear.

Kisumi chuckled and said, facetiously, "Also, I can see why you thought beating up a thirteen year old was the right thing to do."

Rin laughed and punched Kisumi's arm, saying, "He's not  _thirteen,_ okay. And I don't need sass."

Jumping up, the tow-headed man extended his arm out, and Rin clasped it, pulling himself to his feet. Kisumi rubbed his arm, before stating, "By the way, I do care about stuff. I just try to put a positive spin on things."

Raising an eyebrow, the redhead asked, "Like what?"

Crossing his arms, Kisumi replied, "I care about you, don't I?"

Blushing, Rin coughed and said, "Yeah...So Sousuke's gonna teach Haruka how to ride?"

Just as Rin voiced his question, there was the revving of an engine, and a muffled shriek. The two saw Haruka pulling off on the bike, but keeping control of it. Sousuke was waving his long arms, gesturing, and finished by signaling for Haruka to turn back around. Haruka pulled up and jumped of the bike, his raven-hair windswept. He laughed and stood shakily. Sousuke wrapped an arm around him, and smiled, the two of them sharing a brief, intimate moment. Turning back to the group, Sousuke clapped his hands, face flush, and said, "Alright guys. Enough hanging around. I wanna get there by tonight."

As everybody began getting on motorcycles, Rin nudged Sousuke.

Sousuke raised an eyebrow, inquisitively. Rin cleared his throat, and turned red, rubbing the back of his neck. "S-Sou...I, uh,-"

Raising up a hand, Sousuke said, "Rin. It's okay."

Rin smiled, feeling like somebody had lifted a weight off of his chest. He turned to his bike, before stopping, and turned again, one more time. 

"Sousuke!"

The brunet turned around, "Yeah?"

With a pointed finger, Rin blurted out, "You might wanna watch what you eat.  _Kisumi_ said you've been looking fat!"

Sousuke looked at Kisumi, raising an eyebrow, while Kisumi tried to explain. Sousuke just nodded, and smirked, before revving his engine loudly, Haruka wrapping his arms around his waist.

* * *

 Makoto sat in a bar, exhausted. For two days he had driven, nonstop to the city, finally granted the luxury of rest. He, however, felt like he was still moving, and his head rang, stars dancing in the corners of his eyes. The bar he sat in was smokey and gritty, full of questionable patrons. When Makoto had seen the sign outside, which read, _Ama-Chan's_ , something hadn't clicked that it was probably a shady place. Nor did the people outside, people whose bodies told stories of destructive habits and hard lives. _  
_

The oddest thing however, was the entertainment. Standing on a makeshift stage, really some crates and carpet, stood a slender blonde, singing into a microphone.

_"I remember you well, in the Chelsea Hotel."_

His voice weaved its way through the crowd, and it was soft and soothing. It had an almost calming effect, not only on Makoto, but on everybody, as nobody dared to interrupt the singer mid-performance.

_"You were talking so brave, and so sweet. Giving me head, on the unmade bed, while the limousines wait in the street."_

His voice was truly beautiful, and between lulls of sleep, Makoto couldn't help but wonder what a talent like that was doing here.

_"But those were the reasons. And that was New York. We were running for the money and the flash. And I was called la-ast."_

It's almost as if he truly understood those words, and it clicked. He wasn't out of place. He was like everybody else here, just another victim of a harsh life.

 _Wonder what broke him?_ Makoto thought,  _What if I'm broken too?_

As he contemplated his reality, somebody sat down next to him. Makoto turned to see a young man with strikingly dark hair, and glasses, smiling. Makoto attempted a smile, but was too exhausted for cordiality.

"Are you new here? I never see you around."

Makoto nodded, saying, "Yeah...I'm new to town..."

The man whistled, saying, sticking his hand out, "Then welcome. I'm Rei Ryugazaki."

"Makoto Tachibana."

Rei raised an eyebrow, asking, "Are you okay? You're not a druggie are you, because if you are you gotta go. We don't let druggies inside."

Waving his hand, Makoto said, "No, no. I just drove for a long long time to find somebody."

Rei's expression softened, and he said, "Oh. Well, where are you staying?"

Makoto shrugged, stating, "Haven't sorted it all out."

The dark haired man bit his lip, and then looked to the stage, before saying, "Makoto, you can stay here. I mean, not  _here,_ here, but upstairs. There's a two bedroom upstairs, and one rooms empty."

Makoto shook his head, saying, "I don't have much money. I can't pa-"

Rei cut him off, saying, "It's okay. You can...I know. You can work around here. You can be a bouncer. We just lost ours."

The brunet smiled softly, saying, "That's very kind of you. Do you own this place?"

His conversation partner laughed, shaking his head, "No, Ms. Amakata does. You know, the name of the place. But she stays further in the city. Nice neighborhood. Not like the outskirts here. We just live here."

Nodding, and taking it all in, Makoto felt relief. Part of him warned to not always trust strangers, but something told him he could trust Rei. Something about his smile, or the way he talked made him seem like he genuinely cared about people, and that he truly wanted to help Makoto. And Makoto needed somebody to help him. 

Another thought popped into his head, and he asked, "Wait, you said  _we?_ "

Rei palmed his face, "Oh yeah! I stay here with him."

Makoto followed the gesture to the singer, who was wrapping up the song. Rei looked at him, sighing, "I live here with Nagisa."

Makoto nodded, saying, "He's a good singer."

"He's beautiful."

As he finished the song, he stepped down, bouncing over to the two. Smiling wide, he stopped at the table, sitting next to Rei. He looked at him, then Makoto, then asked, "Who's this?"

"This is Makoto, our new bouncer. He's gonna share your room upstairs," Rei answered.

Nagisa looked him up and down, declaring, "He's cute."

Makoto blushed, and Nagisa laughed, a soft laugh, a likable laugh. Sticking out a hand, he said, "Well, it's nice to meet you Makoto. I'm Nagisa."

Taking the tiny hand in his large one, Makoto shook and said, "Thanks. Really, thanks."

Rei rubbed his hands together, and said, "Well, let's get you situated upstairs, okay? Nagisa?"

Nagisa stood taking Makoto by the hand, and leading him to the back. Away from the bar area, was a long hallway, and at the end a turn that lead to a staircase. Showing him the spare room, consisting of a two beds, a dresser, a grimy window, and a dead plant, Nagisa said, sarcastically,  _"Chateau Nagisa."_

Makoto smiled, and walked into the room, but Nagisa followed. Curiously, the blonde asked, "What are you in town for?"

Sighing, Makoto said, "I actually followed a friend here."

"Oh! Do you know where they are?"

Looking down, Makoto said, "No..."

"Oh. Yikes, that's not good," Nagisa said.

Makoto shrugged, looking out the window, saying, "All I know is that he's with some bikers."

Nagisa suddenly took on an intensity that Makoto had yet to see in his short time knowing the singer. However, it faded away, Nagisa reverting to his bright personality, although it seemed like he had dimmed a little. The blonde swallowed nervously, and smiled. Waving his hand, he mumbled about Makoto resting for now, before shutting the door softly.

Makoto sighed and sat down on the bed, exhausted. He looked out the window, watching as the sky began to change hues, a spectrum of oranges and reds and pinks. He saw the faintest traces of lights, beginning to dot the cityscape, and pillars of smoke here and there. The street below was quiet, but he could hear noise further away, like quiet murmuring. He blinked once, twice, and felt his eyelids getting heavier and heaver, each blink getting just a little bit longer. 

Finally, as his eyes shut for the last time, all he thought was, _Where are you?_

Meanwhile, Nagisa bounded down the stairs and into the bar. Squinting, he looked around for Rei, who was talking with some people by the bar. Nagisa walked over, and sat down. The blonde said nothing but never broke the stare and Rei eventually excused himself.

"Why the _hell_ are you staring at me?" he whispered.

" _Why the hell are you inviting strangers into this place?!_ "

Rei looked up at the ceiling, exclaiming, "Him? Nagisa, did you see him? He clearly needs help! Do you not like him or something?"

"N-No, it's just that you can't save everyone."

Rei gave Nagisa a long, knowing look, saying softly, "I guess I just try to help as many people as I can."

Nagisa became quiet, finally saying, "I know..."

"Look, he seems like an honest guy. A-And we can use an extra hand around here. Trust me on this."

"O-Okay. But I'm gonna just be extra cautious."

"Why?"

"He's looking for bikers."

Rei sighed, but pointed to the stage. "Nevermind that now. Go sing something, the patrons are getting restless."

* * *

The smell of smoke and industrialization were the first things to hit Haruka's nose. Second, was the silhouette of a skyline, far off in the distance, dotting the horizon. However, as he got increasingly closer, the dot on the horizon stretched and grew and became defined, towering above him, piercing the night sky. And the night sky. This place was a far stretch from home, where one could see stars, scattered across the night sky, shining down on earth. Here, no star lent its light to the ground, no sky even marked the black, but rather, the stars had descended to the earth, taking their place amongst buildings and street corners, illuminating the world, and beaming towards the night sky.

Haruka gasped, hugging Sousuke tight. Never before had he seen something like this, there wasn't a soul in sight, yet Haruka could feel the presence of every single human being that lived here. Up in a tenement window, sitting on a balcony, muffled shouts, a living breathing city. Again unlike his quiet, dusty roots, so lifeless, so dry. 

The bikers began slowing down, moving at a reasonable speed throughout the city, the roar of the engines ebbing to a purr. Haruka, taking advantage of the lull, exclaimed, "Sousuke, this place is incredible!"

Sousuke chuckled, and said, "Really? These are the slums, really. We've got to go a little further in. Then it's _incredible._ "

"Really?"

Sousuke revved the engine loudly, probably waking everybody in a three block radius, saying, "Just wait babe."

True to his word, it seemed the further in they went, the more surreal it was. It seemed as if the buildings got taller, the streets cleaner, and the lights shone more brilliantly. The murky yellow of the city limits were now replaced by yellows that shone like the sun, with gaudy signs in blues and pinks and greens that pained the eye, by lights that shone above from the apartments that sat above the ground. Haruka was amazed, and his heart raced. Sousuke had been like a golden ticket. Everything seemed better, more pleasant, around him, and Haruka forgot about home, and Makoto, and everything, caught up in the city.

Sousuke finally slowed down as they approached a big building, that had a long vertical sign, reading  _Domino,_ in neon lights that flashed. Sousuke nodded towards the building and Rin and the others got off their bikes, entering.

Haruka was about to follow, when Sousuke said, "Wait. Slow down."

Pointing to the gang, Haruka asked, "Where are they going?"

Shrugging, Sousuke said, "They're gonna see if an  _old friend_ is in. But that's not important. Was I right? Isn't the city better here?"

Haruka nodded, saying, "Yeah, it's crazy. It's so  _new._ Me and Mak-"

 _Makoto._ Haruka looked at the ground, his chest hurting suddenly. In a matter of seconds, it had all returned to him, that this wasn't just some road trip. These few days had altered his life severely, that things were more serious, that Makoto wouldn't ever know why he left.

Sousuke sensed the shift in mood, and said, "Haru?"

Shaking his head, "I just...Makoto."

Sousuke squinted, then asked, "What about Makoto?"

"I just...I didn't get to say goodbye to my bestfriend. You know."

Holding Haruka's face, Sousuke caressed his cheek, apologizing, "I'm sorry. I really am."

Haruka broke away, and said, "I mean, I just don't want him to think that I like hate him or anything, and that I left be-"

Stopping mid-sentence, Haruka looked down, embarrassed. Sousuke looked him up and down, asking, "Because what?"

Shaking his head, Haruka said nothing, until Sousuke grabbed his face again, a little more forcefully, " _Because what?"_

Haruka frowned, and said, "Nothing. N-Nothin-"

Sousuke squeezed tighter, unaware, asking again, "Tell me!"

"You're hurting me!"  
"Just tell me already, Haruka!"  
"Sousuke, a-aah-"  
"What is it?!"  
" _Because he kissed me!"_

Haruka pushed hard against Sousuke, who released him. Haruka's eyes stung, and he rubbed his cheeks. Sousuke's brow knitted in shock, and his mouth hung agape.

"Wh-Why didn't you tell me? Wh-What were you waiting for?"

"I didn't want you to get upset."

Crossing his arms, Sousuke said, "Well, I am."

Haruka frowned, and stepped closer, saying, "Sousuke, I'm so-"

_"No!"_

Sticking an arm out, he accidentally knocked Haruka to the ground. The raven haired man rubbed his elbow, and looked up at Sousuke, in shock. He felt tears in his eyes, but he didn't want to cry. Minutes. It had only been a matter of minutes, and everything had completely changed. 

"Sou?"

Both of them turned to see Kisumi, looking at them. Kisumi didn't look phased, but neither were sure how much he had seen. Kisumi looked to the ground, at Haruka, then Sousuke, before quietly saying, "U-Uh, head on back. He's here."

Sousuke nodded, and Kisumi turned away, eyes trained on the two for as long as possible. He probably saw it all.

Holding an outstretched hand out, he said, "H-Haru, I-"

Haruka shook his head, and stood up, choking, "It's fine."

Sousuke blushed, and began walking inside, Haruka trailing behind him, at a distance. Inside  _Domino,_ smoke lingered in the air, and people milled around, drinking and laughing, music playing loudly. Haruka followed as Sousuke weaved his way through the crowd, to the back. Gou and Aiichirou stood outside, looking at the two, raising eyebrows at both of their red faces. The two entered the back room, a man sitting behind the desk, cigar in his mouth, blonde hair combed stylishly to one side. 

The man smirked, saying loudly, "Sousuke! My man! Heard your back and looking for some work."

Sousuke nodded and said, "Sasabe. It's good to see you again. I think a long conversation's overdue."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks guy for reading this chapter!
> 
> Alot happens in this one, including the introduction of the final characters of the story! I didn't want to spoil it, but I planned on incorporating Nagisa and Rei in this from the beginning. Also, Sasabe is in this, as well as Amakata, so yeah. Things are going to get a little interesting from now on.
> 
> Also, I realize that the fighting between Haruka and Sousuke was a little rough, but I don't really see Haru and Sou's relationship as a smooth one. The two both have issues and they're relationship is less than ideal. Not like abusive or anything, but both can be somewhat reckless or rough or stubborn, but nothing like purposely hurting one another. Basically, expect bumpy roads here and there.
> 
> As always, please comment on the story guys. I want to hear back from you guys because I kinda feel like nobody's reading anymore, and I don't want to waste my time with a story nobody's reading. And you can always reach me on tumblr at kobayakawajpg!
> 
> But that's all for now. Thanks guys!


	13. The Uncomfortable Game

Makoto sat in the kitchen, above the bar. He held a mug of coffee, taking small sips from it. Rei sat across from him, clutching a larger mug of coffee, and Makoto got the sense that he wasn't a morning person. Nagisa stood at the stove, frying eggs in a pan, humming. Along with Rei not being a morning person, Makoto discovered that Nagisa definitely was. The blonde had woken everybody up before the sun, as they had a "big big big day," ahead.

Apparently, the two had to run a bunch of errands that day, and decided that it would serve a dual purpose, in that they could show Makoto around the city, or at least, their area of the city. Rei had informed him that they were probably going to be out for almost the whole day, and then they'd have to come back and open the bar for the night. Rest wasn't a luxury they always had, Rei had said.

In all actuality, Makoto was just glad to have a place to stay. He still wanted to look for Haruka, but also needed to stay busy. Rei and Nagisa seemed like nice people, and Nagisa had promised to help him.

Nagisa walked from the stove to the table, dishing out eggs onto each of their plates. Two fried eggs for both Makoto and Rei, and one for him. He also procured some slightly burnt toast, which he divided amongst the three. Depositing the pan into the sink, he said, "Okay eat up! We gotta big big bi-"

" _Okaaay. Okay, I know, Nagisa..."_ Rei groaned. _  
_

Nagisa chuckled, and looked at Makoto, "Rei's grumpy in the mornings. And it only gets slightly better during the day."

Makoto laughed, as Rei glared at Nagisa from behind his mug. The trio then focused on their breakfasts, devouring it. Makoto stood up, and walked his dish over to the sink, turning the faucet on slightly, a steady stream of water coming out. 

Nagisa stood up, saying, "Hey, no! I can do that!"

Makoto waved away the blonde, saying, "It's no problem. It's the  _least_ I can do, really."

Stepping away, Nagisa said, smiling slightly, "Okay. Okay."

Suddenly, something popped into Makoto's head, and he asked, "Oh, wait! C-Can I borrow your telephone?"

Rei nodded, seeming to come alive, and pointed to the other room, "It's in that room."

Nagisa nodded, saying, "Mhm. Well, we're gonna get ready, so...see you in a bit!"

In the next ten minutes Makoto finished washing the dishes in the sink, setting them out on a rack on the counter. Nagisa had watched Makoto the entire time, from the doorway, finally saying, "Yeah, we've been meaning to get a dishwasher, you know? One of the fancy ones. Everybody in the inner city has one, even Ama-chan."

Makoto nodded, agreeing, "Yeah, they seem cool. I didn't have one where I used to stay, but the place I worked at used to have this big industrial one, and we- OH! I f-forgot! I gotta go make those calls!"

Nagisa pointed to the other room, and Makoto rushed over. He initially dropped it, but caught the cord, picking it up. He heard Nagisa call for him to get ready after he placed the calls, and Makoto responded with some sort of affirmation. The first call he placed was with Golden Touch, where he explained that he was going to be away from work for awhile due to a _family emergency_. Mr. Sugimoto, actually liking Makoto, told him it was okay and he offered his condolences before hanging up. The next one he placed was to his landlord, of which he explained that he was going to be away for awhile. The landlord waved away Makoto's worries, reminding him about how Makoto and Haruka had been occasionally depositing advanced payments and together, they had paid in advance seven months rent.

He put the phone back on the base with a sigh of relief. At least he a few of his worries had been alleviated. He walked back to the room, and looked at his bed. On it sat a luggage, Makoto having packed one, worst case scenario. Looking around, he realized this  _was_ worst case scenario. He was miles from home, no idea where to go from here, staying with people he knew absolutely nothing about.

Sighing he unzipped the luggage, pulling out a wrinkly green shirt, thinking about his misfortune, when Nagisa bounced into the room. The short man stood at the door, looking at Makoto.

Makoto had always been shy, but something about the intensity Nagisa held behind his stare was unnerving. Clearing his throat, Makoto said, "H-Hello."

Nagisa waved and smiled, saying, "Are you ready to go?"

Awkwardly, Makoto waved the shirt around in his clenched fist, saying, "U-Uh, yeah. I was just ch-changing..."

Nagisa nodded, "Oh, okay."

Makoto could feel the blush spread across his face, and he chuckled nervously. Makoto raised an eyebrow, somewhat confused. On one hand, he felt like Nagisa was just oblivious to the fact that he was making Makoto uncomfortable, but there was something about his smile that made Makoto feel like maybe the blonde was just messing with him.

Turning so that his back faced Nagisa, the brunet tentatively removed his shirt. Quickly, he pulled the other shirt over his head, adjusting it. Turning back, Nagisa stared, mouth slightly agape and cheeks tinted pink. Makoto laughed, causing Nagisa to snap out of his torpor. Makoto was slightly pleased that he had one upped Nagisa in this uncomfortable game they were apparently playing, when Nagisa stood up, exclaiming, "Geez! You're  _toned_!"

Makoto turned beet red, and he rubbed the back of his neck, "I-I-I-No...I mean..."

Smirking, Nagisa stepped back and looked Makoto up and down. Grabbing by the hand, Nagisa pulled the larger man with surprising strength, saying, "Okay! Let's go! Rei's probably having an aneurism wondering where we are!"

* * *

Sousuke and Haruka weaved through the crowd and towards the back. Rin stood impatiently with Kisumi, and the three could practically hear him huffing from where they stood. Gou and Aiichirou were nowhere to be seen, which was probably due to Rin barking at them. Sousuke could tell that something was wrong with the two, from the way he stood tersely, hands clenched, and the glares he shot at everybody in the room.

The previous night, Sousuke meant to meet with Goro but the man had  _urgent_ matters that he had to take care of, and he took off. The crew had settled in at a hotel a few blocks away, and  _Domino's_  and Goro was their first order of business. Haruka and Sousuke were still on sensitive conditions, as the brunet hadn't apologized the other night, and both were far too stubborn to be the bigger person. And the  _actual_ bigger person seemed to have more important things on his mind.

Sousuke held his hand out, saying, "Haruka, hold on. J-Just stay here."

Haruka was compliant, not exactly wanting to be next to Sousuke at the moment. He watched as Kisumi and Sousuke approached Rin, the redhead immediately pouncing, initiating a conversation consisting of furious whispers. Rin kept gesturing to the door, and pointing at Sousuke. Sousuke looked stressed, and kept rubbing his brow. He held up a silencing hand, and began to say something to Rin. He gestured to the two of them and then pointed to the back room. At this point Kisumi stepped in, obviously upset by something they said. Sousuke pushed the tow-headed man away, then pointed at Haruka. Unfortunately, Haruka couldn't understand what they had said. All he could infer was that whatever they were talking about had seriously upset the trio.

Rin and Sousuke sat down by the back room, still talking. Sullenly, Kisumi walked over to Haruka, and said, "Haru, come on."

"Wh-Why?"

Kisumi glanced back, sighing, "Because he's stubborn and stupid. And he wants me to, uh, show you a little bit more of the city."

Haruka looked over his shoulder, his eye catching Sousuke's. Sousuke held eye contact, but shook his head then looked away. He rolled his eyes, and followed Kisumi out the building.

Once he got outside, Kisumi was already on his bike, starting it up. Haruka stopped, calling out, "Where are we going?"

Running a hand through his hair, Kisumi answered, "I d-don't know. Let's just go."

Haruka sighed and got on the back, wrapping his arms around Kisumi. His grip went from loose to tight, as Kisumi peeled away, speeding down the streets. After awhile of speeding, Kisumi slowed down at a bar, _Skippy's_. Getting up, he looked inside, shaking his head.

"Crowded."

It went like that for a few more bars.

 _Zona's Pub,_ some sort of police business.

 _Carnal Tavern,_ an especially shady bar, which was saying something.

 _Ama-Chan's,_ closed while the owners were away.

 _Sidelines,_ another crowded bar.

Finally, when Kisumi had almost reached his end, they found a bar name _Astoria._ The two stood outside it, looking up at the sign that flashed pathetically. Haruka raised an eyebrow and Kisumi shrugged. "It's a bar."

As Kisumi said that, a man exited, scratching at his skin, and looking around dazed. Haruka grew wide-eyed, turning to Kisumi, asking, "What kind of bar is this?!"

Kisumi chuckled, and declared, "One with character."

The two entered the bar, and Haruka timidly followed Kisumi to a table. Sensing Haruka's anxiety, Kisumi said, soothingly, "Ease up, Haru. It's no big deal. I used to come here alot. It's not as bad as it seems."

Haruka nodded and relaxed slightly. Kisumi waved at the bartender and made some sort of gesture, which the bartender understood. Haruka squinted at Kisumi and said, "Can I ask you something?"

Kisumi raised an eyebrow, and Haruka began, "What's going on back at, uh-"

"Dominos?" Kisumi finished.

Haruka nodded and Kisumi began to tap the table. The tow-headed man looked away, Haruka saying, "Kisumi! Tell me!"

Biting his lip, he explained, "Look, Sou doesn't want me to talk about this with you, and-"

"Well I don't _care_ what Sousuke wants and I don't _need_ his permission." 

Clearly taken aback, Kisumi blinked, saying, "Uh, w-well, I do care and I don't want to piss him off."

Haruka leaned back, and said, "Why doesn't Sousuke want you to tell me?"

"Er, well, b-because-"

"Because I'm stupid?"

"N-No!" Kisumi exclaimed.

"Simple, naive, weak, unable to understand, go ahead and stop me when I get it."

Kisumi blushed, and said, "It's n-not like that, Haruka. It's  _complicated,_ an-"

"And I'm too stupid to get it!" Haruka said, irritated. If there was anything Haruka hated, it was being treated like a child, and Sousuke had a way of infantilizing him, which was usually well-meaning, but could also be extremely aggravating. As was the case here.

"N-No, Haru, please keep your voice down."

"Just tell me then!"

Kisumi raised his hands in defeat, and said, "Sousuke is going to get us jobs working for Goro."

Haruka rolled his eyes, scoffing, "Seriously? That's it. I was all pissed off because Sousuke was keeping thi-this  _job interview_ a secret?"

Leaning in, Kisumi continued, "Shush! Shut up! Haruka, this  _job_ isn't what you think."

Haruka was baffled and thoughts ran through his head as he tried to understand what Kisumi had said. "Like..." _  
_

Kisumi leaned over and whispered something in Haruka's ears. The raven-haired mans eyes went wide, and Kisumi pulled away, making a zipping motion across his mouth. "You can't let him know that you know."

"W-Wait! Why are  _you_ here then? Shouldn't you be helping them s-sign up for something like that? You _are_ the brain. Shouldn't you be around for a conversation like that?"

Shrugging he said, sarcastically, "Sousuke knows what he's doing, apparently and doesn't need me to be there. Just to babysit."

Haruka rolled his eyes again, for what seemed to be the hundredth time that night. "I don't need to be  _babysat._ "

* * *

 Meanwhile, Rin and Sousuke sat in the office of Goro Sasabe. Goro was dressed ostentatiously, in a suit that was an amalgam of bright clashing colors, topped off with a large fur coat. His hair had star shaped patterns dyed into it, adding another level of artificiality to his hairstyle. He smiled at Rin and Sousuke, but not in an entirely friendly way. His smile had a slightly ominous look to it, almost as if he wasn't smiling at people, but at a profit he could make, or something they could offer him.

In a loud voice, he bellowed, "Sousuke! Rin! It's glad to see two of my favorite boys back!"

The two looked at each other, then back to Goro, who apparently hadn't noticed. Leaning forward, he caressed his chin, asking, "What brings you birds back to the city?"

Sousuke gulped and said, "We're looking to work and stuff."

Goro raised an eyebrow, and said, "Oh really? Well perfect timing, because business is about to boom."

Raising an eyebrow, Rin asked, "Why? What's different than before?"

Goro's smile spread from ear to ear in the most pleased way possible, before he practically squealed, "The Dragons aren't running for Tsujimiya anymore!"

Rin looked at Sousuke, the two exchanging a look with each other. Sousuke leaned forward, asking, "Why not?"

Sasabe waved his hand, muttering, "Something about them almost getting busted and possible connection to a murder."

Again the duo looked at each other, this time, a look of shock on both of their faces.

"That's insane..." Rin gulped. 

Sasabe nodded, saying, "Truly is. Poor Tsujimiya too, but lucky us!"

Leaning forward, Goro explained, "I got a new shipment coming in that I need ran for me, and I think that you guys are perfect for it."

"You're not worried we might pull a Dragons?" Sousuke asked, semi-jokingly.

Waving his hand, Goro dismissed, "No no no. You guys, you guys are smart. And the best in the city, well  _now,_ you guys are. I'm just so glad you guys are back, and with such good timing. I think you guy-"

Raising a hand, Sousuke interjected, "Wait. What's in it for us?"

Cracking his knuckles, Goro smirked, "I can give you guys...ten percent of whatever you make."

Sousuke and Rin looked at each other, before Rin turned, saying, "One minute, Goro."

The two leaned in close, Rin whispering, "What do you think?"

"I think we should take it."  
"Shouldn't we tell Kisumi?"  
"He'll be fine, Rin. Don't worry, this is gonna work out."

Standing up, Sousuke adjusted his jacket, and said, "We'll do it."

Goro practically jumped out of his seat, exclaiming, "Great! Perfect! Fantastic! You guys are gonna make me so much money."

Sousuke stopped the man, before asking, "So  _this_ weekend we start?"

Goro suddenly took on an intensity the guys hadn't seen in a long, long time. "You start this weekend."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wheeeeww. Okay guys, there it is. 
> 
> Goro may not seem like a serious character at the moment, but he's a dark horse definitely. I also can promise that the Dragons will MOST LIKELY be in the next chapter, and definitely in the next two. Also, I was really trying to create some sort of weird awkward (sexual?) tension between Makoto and Nagisa, which will serve to move the plot along later.
> 
> I'm just so glad that I get to write the events that are gonna happen in the city, I've waited so LONG. And tbh, so far Kisumi is turning out to be my favorite character, which I didn't expect.
> 
> As always, thanks for reading, leave comments, subscribe, leave kudos or contact me on tumblr at kobayakawajpg.
> 
> Thanks guys and see you next time!


	14. Infernos

_"Seijuuro!"_

_A warm voice called out to the redhead, a soft, familiar one. It rang through the air like a peal of bells, reaching his ears. Seijuuro turned to see a woman walking towards him. She was much shorter than him, but they shared the same stark copper hair. Her face was soft, with faint creases, and her golden eyes had a knowing look to them. Seijuuro was overwhelmed with happiness, and the two walked beside each other for what seemed to be a long time, yet the scenery never changed._

_As the two walked, the tranquility was suddenly pierced by a shout, a familiar shout, a shout that bore fear. "S-Sei!"_

_Suddenly, everything seemed to turn upside down, and the calm background went up in flames. Literally._

_Seijuuro stood before a house that was being devoured by fire. He turned to the woman, but suddenly she was no longer beside him. Frantically, he looked around, feeling a great urgency suddenly come over him, when the voice resonated through the air again. "Seijuuro!"_

_The redhead looked up, seeing the man the voice belonged to, in a window, far above the ground. Beside him stood the woman, and their faces were sooty and dirty. Their eyes were wild and fearful, constantly looking over their shoulders._

_"U-Up here!"_

_Seijuuro looked up as a silhouette fell from above. He couldn't make out what it was but that it was getting closer and cl-Momotarou!_

_Spurring into action, he caught his brother, who was crying in his arms. His hair was sweaty and tears streamed down his face, cleaning away soot. Seijuuro looked up to see his parents about to launch another projectile when there was a loud cracking noise, like the earth had been split, and the house fell to the ground. Screams from inside and from the two brothers flew into the night. The inferno roared as the house came down, claiming anybody still inside. Seijuuro grabbed Momotarou's hand taking a step back, when suddenly, flames leaped out at the tw-_

"A-Aah!"

Seijuuro sat up in the motel bed, panting. Sweat beaded on his forehead and he could feel dried tears on his cheeks. He looked at the bed next to him, content with finding his brother deep in sleep, mouth agape, drooling. Sighing he ran his hands through his hair, and gathered the blanket around him.

In his dream he was unable to remember who the people were. Reality painfully restored his memory.

"M-Mom. Dad..." He whispered aloud. And his sister. Feeling the tears well up in his eyes, he stood, grabbing the nearest shirt and keys, then made for the door.

As the motel door creaked open, a voice halted him for a second, "S-Sei?"

His brother was slowly waking up, shifting underneath the blanket. Seijuuro waved his hand, reassuringly, saying, "Go back to sleep, Momo. I just gotta get out for awhile."

"O-Okay..." the boy yawned, pulling the blanket over himself.

Sighing Seijuuro closed the door slowly, careful not to let it slam. As he shut the door, he was startled by a voice, "Going somewhere?"

Jumping, he turned to see Chigusa, standing outside her door, smoking a cigarette. Blushing, Seijuuro became cross, scolding, "Damnit! Don't sneak up on people!"

Chigusa rolled her eyes, asking, "What's going on?"

"N-Nothing...I gotta get out for a little."

Tilting her head, the woman looked at Seijuuro, squinting. "Are you okay, Sei? Do you want me to come with you?"

Seijuuro looked at her, then away, saying, "N-No. I mean ye-yeah. I m-mean..." he paused momentarily, gathering himself, before continuing, "Yeah. I need someone to vent to. B-But you can't tell anybody!  _Ever._ "

Chigusa seemed almost surprised for a second, but her cold demeanor returned to her. "A-Alright."

"Wait. Why are you up so late?"

"Because the guys stink and snore so loudly," she said flatly. 

Nodding Seijuuro led the two to their bikes, and then they were off. The duo flew throughout the town, the buildings flying by, the lights becoming streaks. And then they were gone, out of the town, on the long stretch of road, flanked by nothing but vast desert. The moon rested high in the sky, and the two drove and drove, until finally they stopped in the middle of nowhere. Seijuuro got off his bike, barely waiting for Chigusa, who hesitantly got down, looking around.

Turning to Seijuuro, she asked, "Where the hell are we?"

The redhead shrugged, saying, "Just someplace private."

The two sat down on a shaley rock, beneath the shadow of a tall rock spiral. At first they sat in silence, saying nothing. Chigusa was acerbic, but she knew when not to push Seijuuro. Sighing, she leaned back, crossing her legs. After awhile, Seijuuro finally asked, "Did I ever tell you how I became a biker?"

Chigusa shook her head, before realizing they were in the dark, and answered, "No, you haven't."

Sighing, Seijuuro said, "Okay, I'm gonna tell you. B-But this stays between you and me, okay. Like don't even bring it up with Momo."

Raising an eyebrow, the brunette asked, "If this is so personal, then why are you telling me this?"

"Well, because this is something that's stayed with me for a  _long_ time, and probably always will. But, I've never really let it out, you know? I don't even talk to Momotarou about this. A-And because I trust you. Chigusa, to be honest, you're like my right hand man."

Chigusa blushed in the dark, smiling a little. She knew that she was the most competent person next to Seijuuro, but hearing it was one thing. "Th-Thanks, Sei. That really means alot. I trust you too, you know."

Rubbing his hands together, Seijuuro continued, "Anyway, so me and Momo were poor growing up. I mean, we were happy, we didn't need much, and we had our family. Us, my parents, and my sister. We lived in this big old house, but we were happy..."

The man trailed off, looking into the night. Chigusa never knew Seijuuro had a sister, and realized just how deep this confessional was. Quietly, she said, "I didn't know you guys had a sister."

Seijuuro inhaled, saying, "Yeah, we do. She was sweet, smart, tough. Like you. And my parents were good people. They worked hard, were honest, and they loved us."

"What happened?"

" _Fire._  There was a huge drought one summer and fire caught like nothing else. A careless cigarette butt here, a dry field there, the fury of the damn sun itself. Well, our house caught on fire....c-caught on fire, and burned down. Straight down. I wasn't even inside. I remember my parents standing at a window, looking down, and they th-threw Momotarou out of the window, and I caught him. They were gonna throw my sister down too, but the house fell in on itself, and there was nothing to pull from the ashes. That inferno devoured our home, our family, even our past. And all I had was Momo, and all he had was me. And Mo's a sensitive kid, that definitely screwed him up, hell, screwed both of us up. But ever since then I've protected him, and cared for him. I supported us, doing  _anything,_ to get money. And then we found riding. I guess it was a way that we could just run from it all, you know. Never look back, or whatever."

Chigusa was stunned. Never had Seijuuro ever divulged secrets like that to her. To  _any_ of them. And these were the most painful ones too. She was glad for the darkness now, as she could almost feel like Seijuuro was crying silently. Something she never wanted to see.

"How did you start?" Seijuuro asked her.

"Huh, oh...yeah." 

The brunette looked at the ground, rubbing the dirt with the toe of her boot. "Well, it's nothing like that. Not any selfless, noble reason. My parents were drug users, and when I was old enough I left. Just like all my siblings had."

Seijuuro raised his eyebrows, asking, "Where are your siblings now?"

"Oh, you know, here, there, all over the place. None of us keep in touch."

The two sat still, taking each other in. Finally, Chigusa broke the silence, with a question, "So you've done everything for Momotarou?"

"You know, I've made alot of mistakes. Alot. I'm quick to lose my temper, I'm violent, you know. B-But I always have Mo in mind. I have done everything for Momotarou, because this world sucks. This world sucks us in and spits us out, crushed and defeated. And I'm never going to let that happen to my brother. I'd rather him stay a kid forever. And I'll destroy anybody who tries to hurt him."

"Like the Sharks?"

"Yeah, even them..."

Seijuuro stood up, sighing. Chigusa stood up as well, following him back to the main road. Their brief, emotional time out from biker ganging was over, and Chigusa knew that Seijuuro had said all he wanted to for the time being. However, a question randomly popped into her mind, and she decided to ask, "Sei?"

"Hm?"

"Random question, but what was her name? Your sister's?"

Seijuuro didn't turn around but she could feel the sorrow in his voice, as he said, voice slightly breaking, "Doesn't matter. She's  _gone._ "

* * *

" _Mmm."_

Haruka lay on the bed of a hotel, Sousuke over him. The brunet planted kisses along Haruka skins, trailing up his shapely neck. He pulled Haruka up, hand on his waist, and bit Haruka's ear. Haruka could feel the pressure underneath him, as he sat on Sousuke's lap, but wasn't in the mood for promiscuity.

As Sousuke tugged on Haruka's shirt, Haruka put his hands on Sousuke's chest, saying, "Wait. I don't know..."

Sousuke's expression only changed slightly, eyebrows shifting. In a husky voice, he said, "Wh-Why? What's wrong?"

Haruka felt uneasy and shook his head, "I just don't want to you know. Like I'm not in the mood, you know."

The raven really wasn't in the mood, having felt uneasy around Sousuke since Kisumi informed him about how little he truly knew about Sousuke. And the worst part was that Sousuke completely intended to keep Haruka in the dark on everything, as though he was a child. But Haruka was neither a child nor a fool and part of his heart ached at the truth that constantly niggled at his mind.  _  
_

_Sousuke was a drug dealer. A smuggler. A thug. A criminal._

Haruka's heart was heavy at these revelations, and everything was different now. And Sousuke had the gall to keep those things from him. 

The worst part was that Haruka always wished for change and excitement and for Sousuke to be in his life, yet now that he had both, he wasn't sure if they were all he had imagined. He was snapped out of his stupor by Sousuke's voice, calling him back to reality, and away from thought.

"It's not me, is it?"

"No, no it's not you," Haruka somewhat lied.

Scratching the back of his neck, Sousuke asked, "I'm confused. What's the problem then?"

"Okay, fine," Haruka said. He'd give Sousuke what he wanted and in return Sousuke would have to give him what he wants. The truth.

"N-No, if you don't want to then do-"

Haruka leaned forward and kissed Sousuke, running his hands through brown hair. Sousuke held tight to Haruka's waist, his rough hands warm against Haruka's skin. "I said it's fine. _Man up._ "

A blush spread across Sousuke's face, and he whispered, "I'm so turned on right now." 

"Prove it."

* * *

"Alright, lock the doors guys," Rei called out from behind the counter, as he finished drying glasses and neatly arranging them on the counter. Makoto was placing chairs back onto the floor, as they previously sat upside down on tables so the floor could be swept. Nagisa sat on one of the tables where Makoto had already swept and watched the brunet sweeping, looking unsteady.

Rei noticed this, before confusion then annoyance flashed across his face. Frowning, he shouted, "Nagisa! Did you hear me? Lock the doors, please."

Nagisa got up, slowly making his way to the door. He fumbled with the locks before finally succeeding in making the door impenetrable. Triumphantly, he turned around and smiled, eyes fluttering. Makoto shot a look at Rei, who shook his head, making a drinking motion. Makoto nodded, finally understanding Nagisa's strange behavior. The blonde stumbled over to where Makoto stood, leaning on him.

The blonde cringed, mumbling, "Ah, my s-stomach."

Pursing his lips, Rei said, "Oi, that's why it's important to watch how much alcohol you consume."

"Mm, I o-only had a  _few_ drinks," Nagisa burped.

"Yes, but the amount of alcohol a person can drink is related to their size. A-And you're short and lean."

As the two argued over the potential causes of Nagisa's  _slight buzz,_ Makoto stood watching them, smirking. The two had a very interesting dynamic, and Nagisa seemed to antagonize Rei, which wasn't exactly a lie. However, the truth was more of something along the lines of the two being opposites, that balanced each other out. Rei was more collected and responsible and Nagisa had this childlike optimism to him. Makoto watched and wondered how he fit into the dynamic. The two had proven to be worthwile friends in the past week, and Makoto was glad to have met them. Everyday working in the bar, they got closer and Makoto learned a little bit more about them. Everyday he became a little more complacent, yet something always reminded him of what he was there to do. To find his best friend, and go home with him.

Apparently, Nagisa had lost the argument as he stood, slumping, Rei frowning at him. Makoto chuckled, clapping his hands together, announcing, "Alright guys. I'm gonna head upstairs now. I'm really exhausted."

Rei nodded at him, but Nagisa did his best to bound after him, saying, "Yeah me too. I'm going with Makoto."

Makoto glanced over his shoulder, feeling unsure about how he felt to be alone with Nagisa. Makoto liked Nagisa, but he had a way of following Makoto around that made him uncomfortable, almost as if he was constantly watching Makoto. The brunet had dismissed this as cautiousness, and had come to the conclusion that Nagisa was probably just a wary person. Still...

The two entered their shared room, Makoto collapsing onto his bed. His feet stuck off the bed, as he was too tall for it, and he curled up. Nagisa laid down on his bed, closing his eyes. Makoto squinted at the blonde, then asked, "Nagisa, why do you always watch me?"

Nagisa opened his eyes, sitting up, asking, "What do you mean?"

Shrugging, Makoto said, "I don't know. I just feel like you're always watching me and that you don't trust me or something."

"That's not it. Not at all."

Nagisa was silent for a long time, then said, "I guess having someone like you around is... _new._ "

Makoto raised his eyebrows, asking, "What do you mean? I d-don't understand."

Sighing, he explained, "You're not like the people here. I mean you're an honest guy, and you're here for your friend. People here aren't like that. Aren't like you."

"You are."

Nagisa chuckled, saying, "No, I'm really not. I belong in this city, with the rest of these people."

Makoto rested his head on his elbow, saying, "I don't think so. I mean we haven't known each other long but in the time that I've known you, you've seemed like a great person."

Shaking his head, Nagisa said, "You don't even know who I really am."

"Then who are you?"

"You really want to know?"

"Yeah, go ahead," Makoto said. Before he knew it, Nagisa was sitting on his bed, telling his story.

Nagisa looked at his feet for awhile, before starting, "Well I grew up far from here. My family wasn't the greatest. I had older sisters who either ignored me or tormented me. My parents didn't care about us, and eventually we got taken away and put into the system. My sisters aged out and they left me all alone, and since then I've been alone. When I was old enough I left that place. I  _hated_ it, they was nothing but bad memories. But the thing was, I didn't actually have the money to leave so I would do  _anything._ I would get rides from strangers, stop in places, stay there for awhile, a-and then they'd leave me. And it went on and on, and I got older, and I was still alone. And then a year ago, I was in a city where...wh-where..."

Tears welled up in Nagisa's eyes, and he smiled back the tears, shaking his head. Clearing his throat, he mumbled something like an apology, before continuing, "I met Rei and then we came here and I've been here since. But nothing's changed. I'm still  _alone._ A-And that's the thing Makoto, people here are all like that. This is a sad, awful place. And you don't fit in here. You're not like this place, not like me. You're special."

Makoto looked at Nagisa, who was staring at the floor. His bangs had fallen into his eyes, and he was shaking slightly. Makoto, after a period of not knowing what to say, said, "Nagisa, I d-don't think you're right. It sounds like you've had a hard life but that's not your fault. And you're not like this place, I mean, when I came here the first thing that stood out to me was you. A-And I think you're not as alone as you think you are."

Nagisa looked up, tears welled up in his eyes, saying, "R-Really?"

"Yeah, people care about you. You're a special person, Nagisa."

The two looked at each other, Nagisa's eyes taking in something on Makoto's face. Makoto wasn't sure what he was looking at, but it didn't matter, because his attention shifted entirely. Nagisa leaned forward, mouth slightly ajar, eyes closed in anticipation.

Makoto cleared his throat, saying, "I, u-uh...Nagisa..."

Nagisa pulled away, blushing, "I'm s-sorry. I, um, I was just-"

"No, it's okay! It's fine."

Nagisa stood up, sheepishly walking to his bed. Makoto felt guilty, unsure if he had lead Nagisa on, or if Nagisa had misinterpreted something. "N-Nagisa?"

Nagisa had gotten into his bed, his slight figure disappearing under blankets. Clearly not saying anything, Makoto looked for a second before turning away, saying, "I'm s-sorry."

* * *

Haruka rested his head against Sousuke's bare chest, hearing his faint heartbeat.

Sousuke had his heads behind his head, and he rested his head on a pillow. Leaning over, he kissed Haruka's forehead, saying, "That was great, babe."

Haruka rubbed Sousuke's chest, saying "I'm glad. Are you satisfied?"

"Hell yeah?"

Haruka smiled wickedly, saying, "Well then you owe me."

The brunet nodded saying, "Yeah, anything you want babe."

"Well I want you to talk to me," Haruka said.

Furrowing his brow, Sousuke asked, slightly confused, "About?"

"I don't know," Haruka said, suddenly unsure about confronting Sousuke, "A-Anything. What about your childhood?"

Sousuke looked at Haruka, saying, "What's with all these weird personal questions?"

Haruka blushed, saying, "I mean, I just want to know more about you, it's like I barely know you."

Whistling, the brunet shrugged, saying, "Childhood? Okay, I guess. There's not much to say, I guess. I didn't have a dad. It was just me and my mom, who was something else. I m-mean she cared for me and stuff, but  _barely._ She was always running around with some man, always a different one, and we barely knew each other. I mean, I didn't have that great of a childhood. Like there's not much to talk about. What about you?"

Haruka flipped his bangs out of his forehead, saying, "Uh, well, I was raised by my grandmother and she never really talked about them. But she loved me, and I didn't have it rough or anything. J-Just boring."

Sousuke nodded, saying "Interesting, interesting."

Haruka shook his head, saying, "No way. You're much more interesting than me."

Looking at Haruka, Sousuke said, "No, Haruka. Interesting isn't the word for it. I've made some big mistakes, hurt people, and there's nothing interesting about it. But I went right with you. I mean, that sounds corny, but I knew you were the one when I saw you. A-And I know that I'm not exactly the easiest person to be in a relationship. I get that I can be stubborn, and pushy, a-and rough, but I really love you Haruka. And I know that you've been pissed off with me lately, but I want it to stop. I don't want to be on bad terms with you."

Something about Sousuke's apology made him feel better, all the frustrations that had culminated over the past few days just went away. He decided that he wasn't going to say anything, at least not that night. He'd give Sousuke the time to tell him on his own. Part of him told him he might be foolish to do that, but another part of him wanted to believe that Sousuke was going to tell him. Caution was beaten out by hope. Maybe that was Haruka's true weakness, in that he wasn't able to be hard on a person, make the most rational decisions. People had always told Haruka that he was a very cold person, and that may have been true, but when it came to people he cared about he only made the most compassionate decisions.

Pecking Sousuke on the lips, Haruka said, "I don't want to fight with you either, Sou. I love you."

Sousuke smiled, his slight, beautiful smile, saying, "I love you too, Haruka."

Haruka cuddled up to Sousuke, holding him tighter, feeling his skin, wrapping himself around the taller man. He came to his final realization that night, that no matter how less than ideal Sousuke was, Sousuke was the only person he had at this point, and that if anything, they should be as one, and not against each other. Content, he closed his eyes, exhausted. The nights  _events_ and the frustration accumulated over the past week had finally gotten to Haruka and he retreated from reality and into sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmm. Yeah.
> 
> Okay, sorry for the long chapter but I wanted to establish somethings. Firstly, I wanted to make up for the lack of time I've had to work with Nagisa and I wanted to make up for that, and I will work on Rei in the upcoming chapters, just trying to develop characters further.
> 
> I also wanted to show that Seijuuro is not a great person, but he's not a bad guy. Like that's the thing I'm trying, and probably failing, to get across, that in this story I'm not trying to make protagonists and antagonists, bad and good, but PEOPLE. Like people who've had rough lives, or sad lives, or just needed a fresh start, who make mistakes and collide with each other. There's reasons why I make Sousuke kinda jerky, or Seijuuro aggressively-protective of his brother. I don't want anybody to seem entirely like a bad person, basically.
> 
> Also, I practically wasted your time with the Sousuke and Haruka parts but I wasn't exactly focusing on them this chapter but next chapter will be more souharu orientated. 
> 
> And sorry for all the sadness but it is all for a reason, so don't feel so bad because I promise that things change and their sorrow is temporary, for the most part.  
> But that's all for this round guys. Also also also, please comment guys because nothing makes me happier than comments and they fuel my motivation to do this basically, because I like attention. Anyways, as always leave comments, criticisms, blah blah blah, you guys know.
> 
> Thanks for reading !


	15. Ms. Boss

Sousuke squatted on the floor, a cigarette in his hand. Cinders fell to the floor, slowly glowing amber until they faded to grey dust. Sweat gathered on his face, shoulders, and back, giving his bare skin the allusion that it was shining. Around him sat a few boxes, each holding a myriad of items that Goro had given to Sousuke. Goro found an empty apartment, really it was nothing more than a two bedroom efficiency. It consisted of a single bedroom complete with a bathroom, a living room, and a kitchen. Rin and the others had gotten another, bigger apartment a few blocks away, but as an act of generosity, Sasabe had also taken the liberty to purchase telephones for their apartments. 

Haruka stood in the kitchen, over the double burner gas stove, cracking eggs into a skillet. The room filled with the scent, the sizzle the only thing making noise in the moment. Sousuke felt content, just watching the raven make breakfast at three in the afternoon. The two had alot of problems, Haruka was stubborn, Sousuke tempermental, but they belonged together, in his opinion. Sitting here, they were almost like a real couple, young newlyweds settling into a house together. However, reality was slightly different than squeaky clean suburban life. The neighborhood they were in was less than ideal, and Sousuke stressed that Haruka should try to stay inside as much as he could, and never talk to anybody he didn't know. Sousuke didn't want Haruka to go out and do anything without him, knowing how this place works, that somebody as  _fragile_ as Haruka would be crushed in a day.

Of course, he wouldn't admit that to Haruka. He had just told him that it was a rough neighborhood, knowing that addressing Haruka's frailty was a good way to piss him off and invoke another week long stand off. No, Sousuke decided that the less he explained to Haruka the better, and that this was the best way to protect their relationship. Part of him, however, couldn't help but call out this  _control_ of Haruka, saying it was unhealthy, unfair, yet another side of him told him that it was because he loved the smaller man, and only wanted to protect him.

Idealism trumped self-awareness, as always.

But the control was truly due to Sousuke's misguided love. He wanted to be here with Haruka, and in his eyes they belonged to one another and only one another. Standing up, Sousuke dusted off his jeans and walked over to Haruka. Humming, he bent over him, kissing the back of his neck. Haruka's shoulders tensed up and he raised them protesting, "A-Ah. No, stop. You  _stink._ "

Sousuke smirked, not stopping, saying, "Stink? I stink because I moved us into here all by myself."

Haruka turned around, craning his neck up. A sly smile spread across his face, and he retorted, "I offered to help you, but  _you_ said  _no._ "

Sousuke squinted his eyes, and Haruka poked him in the neck. Clasping his neck, Sousuke backed up, saying, "H-Hey! Don't do that shit!"

Laughing, Haruka covered his mouth. Sousuke smiled, loving to hear his laugh. In fact, that was how they had really met. A year ago, Sousuke had been in the diner Haruka had worked at and had taken note of Haruka when he initially saw him. However, Sousuke only decided to talk to Haruka after hearing his laugh. His laugh was pleasant, like the peal of bells. The only bad part, was Sousuke seldom heard it. It was rare, and hard earned, his chuckle being more common. But when he laughed, he smiled, and when he smiled, he was the most beautiful.

Haruka laughed again, and Sousuke realized he was blushing. Trying to cover his face, the man asked, "Wh-What?"

Rolling his eyes, the dark-haired man said, "You're such a dork."

Raising an eyebrow impishly, Sousuke took a lumbering step towards Haruka, saying, "Really?  _Reaaally?"_

Clearly knowing what Sousuke was going to do, Haruka held his hands out, saying sternly, "No! Sousuke don't even thin-"

In a single lunge, Sousuke grabbed Haruka and picked him up. Spinning around, Sousuke laughed loudly, as Haruka protested. Sousuke stepped back, tripping over the ragged couch, Haruka on top of him. Haruka looked at Sousuke, and Sousuke smiled, "I love you so much."

Wriggling, Haruka tried to get off of Sousuke, but the brunet held tight. Haruka, palms pressing against Sousuke's chest, grunted, "Ugh! You're so sticky! Let go, you idiot!"

Sousuke hugged him tighter, making sure that they were really pressed together, saying, "Not until you say you love me back!"

"I l-love you!"

"You gotta mean it!"

Haruka wiggled out of his arms, rolling onto the floor. Standing up, he fixed his hair, blushing. Sousuke held his hands up behind his head, smirking, and Haruka attempted to look cross. Failing in seconds, the two burst out laughing, in their humble apartment. In times like this, Sousuke really felt like they could spend the rest of their lives together. Standing up, he asked, looking down at the ground, "So you still haven't said it like you mean it..."

Raising an eyebrow, Haruka said, "Oh, okay. I  _love_ you, Sousuke."

Sousuke smirked, tapping his lips, asking, "How bout a kiss, then?"

"No! You stink! Go shower, and then maybe."

Sousuke rubbed his stomach, and thought about the eggs on the stove, protesting, "But, babe, I'm starving."

"Shower. First."

And their momentary couple's bliss had subsided. The two were coasting back down to their usual calm attitudes. Sousuke, deciding to give Haruka what he wanted, walked to the shower, disrobing as he walked through the hallway. He glanced over his shoulder to see Haruka staring at him. The minute the two made eye contact, Haruka looked away blushing, pretending to be focused on scrambled eggs.

Shaking his head, Sousuke walked into the bathroom, fully naked, shutting the door behind him.

Haruka watched him shut the door, eyes lingering on the door for a moment, before flitting away. He scooted eggs around the pan, nonchalantly, then turned the stove off. Sighing, he walked over to couch and laid down. He closed his eyes, his new apartment the only thing that he focused on at the moment. Then, his mind was in another apartment, around the same size, from a thousand years ago. And in that apartment, was another brunet, one that he loved, but in a different way. Makoto.

Haruka sat up, feeling his chest become heavy. He had forgotten, over the past few hectic days, about his best friend, but it all came surging back. He stood, rubbing the tears in his eyes and laughed. Walking over to one of the dirty windows, he looked out over the skyline, back in the direction he believed was home. 

"Makoto...What I wouldn't give to talk to you right now."

Suddenly, Haruka was hit with the realization, that he could. Looking around, he scanned the room, before his eyes landed on the phone. It sat on the wall, attached to a box, with a long, curly cord dangling from it. Haruka walked over to it, and picked it up. He picked his brain for the number to the apartment he and Makoto shared, dialing the number. Haruka felt anxious, unsure of what to tell his friend, how he would explain it. The only thing that he was banking on was Makoto's inability to hold a grudge.

_Riiiing. Riiiiing._

The other line trilled, and Haruka waited patiently, thinking,  _He wouldn't ignore me, right?_

A few more seconds,  _Of course not!_

And another few,  _M-Maybe he's mad?_ _  
_

As the ringing subsided, Haruka hung the phone. He had come to the realization that Makoto wouldn't be ignoring his calls, as he wouldn't even know that it was Haruka calling. However, Haruka was still pretty sure that Makoto should've been home. At this time him and Makoto would be lounging in their apartment, during the weekdays, when the diner hours weren't as quick. Looking back to the phone, Haruka hoped silently that his friend would at least try to return the call, all the while wondering if he was deserving of a return call.

* * *

 Nagisa hummed thoughtlessly, as he scrubbed a table, with vigor. His messy blonde hair had been contained underneath a bandanna and he had long gloves on. He wore a stained apron over his clothes, and carried a bucket around with him. Today was a cleaning day, and he was hard at work. As were his coworkers who had all undertaken different tasks. Rei was washing all the dishes and rearranging the liquor cabinet. Makoto was bringing in the new chairs that Amakata had bought for the bar.

Pausing, Nagisa looked around, taking in the scene. He wiped the sweat from his brow, and waved at Rei, shouting, "Rei! How's it going?"

Rei smiled, adjusting his glasses, replying, "I'm almost done. And then I'm gonna move chairs. What about you?"

"Same. I'm almost done," Nagisa answered. Turning, he looked at Makoto who stood in the doorway panting. Ever since the other day, Nagisa felt awkward around Makoto. He still liked him, still stole glances out of the corner of his eyes, but every time he looked at the brunet, he felt longing. And every time Makoto spoke to him he felt loneliness. And every time Makoto spoke, Nagisa Hazuki felt empty. He didn't want it to be awkward between the two, however, and acted like that night was nothing more than drunken abandon. But it wasn't. Nagisa was painfully aware of that night, and the mere sight of this man was like a needle, that pricked him and shifted his focus from the distractions of everyday life, and back to the tragedy that Nagisa believed he had brought upon himself.

Forcing a smile, he asked, "What about you, Makoto?"

Makoto stood up straight, stretching his arms. Nagisa's eyes flickered to Makoto's arms, as he stretched, unconsciously flexing. Makoto put his hand in his pocket, nothing but his thumbs sticking out, saying, "I'm almost done. I just gotta do a few more chairs, and we'll be all good."

Nagisa smiled and nodded. Everyone returned to their work, and Nagisa's eyes lingered on the brunet for only a second. He decided to focus on his work, engrossing himself in it. By the time he had finished, he had practically sanded down each table, by scrubbing them so hard. He was the last one to have finished, Rei finishing first then Makoto. Rei sat at the counter, hair still wet from a shower. Nagisa could hear the pipes upstairs, telling him that Makoto was showering. His mind stayed on that thought for a second, before moving on, a slight blush spreading across his face.

Rei, from the counter noticed Nagisa's odd behavior over the past few days, but had been unsure on how to address it. For one, Nagisa had been alot less vocal, and another thing, Nagisa was working earnestly. Usually, the blonde would just be loud and obnoxious, all the while lounging about the bar. However, he now seemed dedicated to his work, and it had a somewhat unsettling feel to it.

From behind the counter, Rei asked, "Nagisa, are you okay?"

The blonde looked up, flipping his bangs out of his eyes. His eyebrows scrunched up for a second, before he answered, simply, "Yeah. Why?"

Rei scratched the counter with his finger, shrugging, "You've seemed out of it, these past few days. You know."

Nagisa pulled the gloves off of his hands, letting his skin breathe. Sitting down on one of the new chairs, he rubbed his foot, saying, "I don't know. What do you mean?"

Running a hand through his dark hair, Rei said, cautiously so as not to upset Nagisa, "W-Well you know, for one, you've been kind of quiet. A-And you're actually working, an-"

"Wait wait wait. So because I've been a productive person these past few days, I've been out of it?" Nagisa said, eyebrow raised.

Rei put his hands up defensively, saying, "You know that's not what I meant, Nagisa."

Red in the face, the blonde stammered, "W-Well, you know, I'd think you were out of it too, if you weren't being s-such a  _jackass._ "

As soon as he said that, Nagisa immediately regretted it. Rei was taken slightly aback, but Nagisa's lashing out was the final confirmation that something wasn't right. He looked at Nagisa knowingly, until the blonde broke the stare. Looking at the ground, Nagisa mumbled, "I'm sorry, Rei. I didn't mean it."

Walking out from behind the counter, the raven sat next to Nagisa, who still stared at the ground. Rei had known Nagisa for a couple years now, and knew that Nagisa wasn't all that he seemed. On one hand, Nagisa was the brightest person Rei knew, yet Rei also considered Nagisa to be the saddest person he knew. He always credited himself as the source of his own sorrow, and no matter what Rei said, Nagisa had this ingrained in his mind. He knew that Nagisa had a rough life, alot rougher than Rei's.

Rei had grown up in a small town. He was poor, had no father, and was always picked on. However, Rei rose up and out. He had studied hard in school, and graduated valedictorian of his class. He didn't have the money for college however, and when his mom died, he left that place. No college, no family, nobody, Rei Ryugazaki went wherever the road went. He settled only for moments, and in one of these briefs moments, he met Nagisa. He had always considered his life rough, but his paled in comparison to the blonde's. And they had stuck together since.

And he knew that in times like this, Nagisa would want to be quiet. The boy was destructive and had this notion that he was the only person that could shoulder his burden. Rei tried to help ease the pain, but apparently Rei was severely lacking. Gently, he nudged Nagisa, asking, "Want to talk about it?"

Nagisa shook his head, and whispered, "N-No."

Rei rubbed his back, comfortingly and said, "Come on, Nagi. Just between the two of us. What's going on?"

Nagisa looked up, and his wet cheeks shone under the harsh light. His eyes had already began to puff, and he sniffed, "I d-don't know, Rei. I don't know what's going on, I don't know what going on with me. I m-mean, I just feel so unwanted, I always do. Nobody likes me."

"Wh-Why do you feel like that? I mean, why all of a sudden are you feeling this?"

Nagisa bit his lips, clenching his knuckles on the table until they turned white. "B-Because I think I'm in l-love."

Rei was shocked, an odd feeling in his chest. "Wha-With who?"

Nagisa was silent for what felt like a really long time, before he croaked, "Makoto..."

"Love?! Nagisa you barely know him, though! You've known him for like two weeks!"

"I know, Rei.  _I know._ B-But there's something about him, and I w-want something like that. I don't know why though! A-And not to mention that he'd never go for me! I'm a m-mess!"

Rei was absolutely silent. In truth, he didn't know what to say to Nagisa. He had never been in love, and didn't know what would be the most sound piece of advice. He racked his mind for something,  _anything,_ but their conversation, or rather, their silence, was interrupted by the bar door opening loudly. Rei turned, saying, "Sorry, we're closed!"

A person stood silhouetted in the door, before saying, in an instantly recognizable voice, "Sweetie. This place is  _never_ closed to me."

The person at the door, a woman walked in, revealing herself. She had wavy brown hair that reached her collar. Her shapely form was complemented by an all white dress, that hugged her body. Around her neck was a faux fur collar. She clutched an all white wallet, and walked in a pair of stilettos that matched her outfit. Truly no denizen of this part of the city, she had came from deep within, an obvious inner city dweller. Miho Amakata. The living embodiment of glamour and excess. She stood, hand on her hip, taking in her bar. Amakata was a fabulously wealthy woman who owned several boutiques, a few cafes, and a single bar. While she could be a clumsy, silly woman, she had strong ties to others in the area, and was not one to trifle with.  _  
_

Rei stood up, immediately, saying, "Ms. Amakata! H-How are you?"

She waved her hand dismissively, saying, "Oh, I'm great. Thanks for asking. I just came to check in on my bar, and the new chairs that I ordered. I see you got them in and set up."

"Yes, of course. We got on them right away."

Smiling softly, she said, "Of course you did...Rei. I also came to check in on the new employee that you mentioned to me. Makoto, no?"

"Oh, yes. I'll go get him. He's upstairs."

Holding her hand out, she said, "No, it's okay. I'll go upstairs myself. Thank you Rei."

Rei watched as she walked to the stairs, turning back only once to notice Nagisa. With a slight smile, she sang, "Oh, hello, um, you!"

Nagisa barely looked up, and she walked off, heels clicking up the stairs. 

Meanwhile, Makoto had gotten out of the shower, and changed into a comfortable pair of pants and a tank top. He sat on his bed, exhausted. He soon became aware of the sound of clicking in the hallway, but it was more than that. It was rhythmic, and got louder. Suddenly, there was a soft knock, and woman opened the door. His eyes immediately trailed to her shoes, explaining the clicks. She looked him up and down, and smirked. The smirk grew to a bright smile, and she said, "Hello! I'm Miho Amakata, and you must be Makoto!"

Makoto stood up, attempting to fix his hair. Amakata. Ama-chan. This woman was his boss, and he didn't want to cross her. She looked at him, hungrily, saying, "Oh my. You're tall."

The man chuckled, and she ordered, "Stand still."

Slowly, she circled him, taking him in. Coming full circle, she looked at him, then asked, "Makoto, have you been enjoying your time under my employment?"

"O-Oh, yes. M-Ma'am."

Giggling, she said, "I'm glad. But first, there's a few things I need to sort out, in order to ensure that you're right for this place. And then you'll be official, and you're pay will be official as well."

Makoto nodded, asking, "Like an interview."

Miho smiled, saying, "Not quite."

Taking a dainty hand, she pressed his chest, and he blushed. She was an extremely attractive woman, and she apparently knew so. She was also assertive, which Makoto was somewhat attracted to. Furthermore, she was a woman of pleasure and sensation, and right now, she wanted to know what sensations she could gather from this young man. Miho also had a way of getting absolutely what she wanted from others, and this would be no exception.

Pushing him towards his bed, she whispered in his ears, "Makoto, show me that you're capable of being under my employment."

Confused, Makoto blushed, "Wh-What?"

Running her hand through his hair, he felt goosebumps on his arms, and she said again, seductively, "Show me you're  _capable_ for this _,_ heh, position." _  
_

Getting the gist of what she asked, Makoto said, "Uh, y-yes."

Makoto wasn't sure what was coming over him, but he had been so lonely for the past weeks, and all he wanted was the comfort of another human being, and here was exactly what he wanted, and then  _some._ Forgetting about his troubles, Haruka, everything that weighed him down these past few weeks, Makoto gave into temptation, finally deciding that he'd get something he wanted.

Amakata ran her hands over Makoto, pulling the tank top off of him. Throwing it to the ground, she walked over to the door shutting it slightly, for privacy.

However, somebody had seen her shut the door, Makoto sitting on the bed. They didn't know what to make of it, what to think, but knew it was something that he shouldn't have seen. As Makoto loosed the chains that held him down, this person's chains tightened, and he felt even worse. From the staircase he had seen it all. But this, he wouldn't talk about. This would be another secret to keep, another burden to bear. But he'd give them the privacy they wanted, and Nagisa walked back down the stairs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew. 
> 
> A few notes, firstly this was a long chapter but only contained two pov's and I think that I'm gonna start limiting the amount of pov's for the amount of words for each pov. 
> 
> Secondly, I guess you could say that I'm kind of doing like character arcs, so I think I'm gonna focus on Sousuke, Haru, and Nagisa, and then like in the next few chapters Rin, Kisumi, Rei and Makoto.
> 
> And I'm sorry for Nagisa being such a sad, insecure person, but I promise that it won't be like this forever. Some people will get their happy endings, even if it takes some time.
> 
> Also a little side note, I wanted to kinda take a divergence from Amakata's light character, and for more of a horrible boss kind of deal. Like she's not like Goro in that she's shady and, well, a criminal, but that she's very selfish and manipulative which we see now and will later on. Also, the whole Makoto and her thing is not like a romance, more of like a pleasure, friends with benefits things. And in this AU, Makoto is a canon bisexual so yeah. I just felt like Makoto needed an outlet for his frustration and that this was the kind of thing that came to mind because I'm a twisted human being.
> 
> Well, that's all for this chapter, and Happy Easter to its celebrants! Please leave comments and kudos and subscribe and yeah, all the good stuff! See you guys next time! Thanks!


	16. Ugly

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: MILD VIOLENCE ???

Rin stood outside  _Domino's,_ looking at a slip in his hand. It was a note that he had gotten from Sasabe, with nothing but an address and a time written down.  _413 Pershing Place, Apartment 2D, 4:40._ Rin sighed, looking at the cheap watch he had on his wrist.  _2:10._ He had an hour and a half, and almost nothing to do. He didn't want to find Kisumi because he was always dragged into absurd situations and Rin would no doubt be punched in the face at least once. Besides he hadn't seen Kisumi in a couple of days, but that wasn't unusual. Kisumi was probably doing drops himself. Sousuke was out of the question, completely. As of late, Sousuke was usually inaccessible, devoting all of his time to _Haruka._ Ever since those two had met up, they had been practically inseparable, which aggravated Rin. Furthermore, Sousuke had always been a jerk, but now, he _always_ had some reason to blow off Rin, and the reasons all had a very similar theme to them, Haruka. No, Sousuke was out of the question.

Which left his sister and her friend. Aiichirou and Gou were either at the apartment or working at _Domino's._ Initially, both of them wanted to do the same thing as Kisumi, Rin, and Sousuke, but Sousuke had decided against letting them. Something about them being too young, and that the job could be very _detrimental._

Of course Gou wasn't complacent, not in the slightest. The fiery girl protested, cussed, and threw a tantrum that left an unsightly bruise on Sousuke's rib. And of course, Rin was the one that had to detain his sister.  _  
_

Rin loved his sister, no doubt, but she caused him the most amounts of stress in his life. She was hot tempered, had a bad attitude, and had this idea that she was invincible. Rin, however, knew alot about his sister, and knew that she could only take so much, and he tried to his best to limit the things she was exposed to. This infuriated her most of the time. She accused Rin of being a control freak, saying that he treated her like a baby, swore up and down that she  _hated_ him. Didn't matter. Rin had always looked out for his sister, no matter when, no matter where, ever since the two had become the only the thing that they always had. And he always would.

He had felt really bad, lately, for his sister. In actuality she was just a kid, but she had been denied her whole life a childhood. In fact, he often wondered if she would've turned out differently if they had grown up differently. He blamed himself for the most part, saying that his poor choices impacted her and that he should devote himself to spending more time with her, actually fulfilling the role of an older brother and not just being a nag. 

 With a rev of his engine, Rin peeled away from  _Domino's,_ heading off to waste time between now and the delivery, as well as spend some time with his sister, essentially killing two birds with one stone. 

At least a half an hour later, he pulled up to the shabby apartment he shared with his sister and Aiichirou. It was in the projects, but sat on the ninth floor of a large tenement. The sign, indicating the name of the complex was so severely vandalized that the name was no longer legible, and it's name slipped his memory. He headed straight for the elevator, glad to find that he was alone. In one arm, he held the package he needed to deliver, and in the other he had a treat for his sister, which he meant to surprise her with.

The elevator finally reached the ninth floor, and Rin exited. Walking towards the room, he grabbed the key from his back pocket, opening the door. The apartment was decently sized. It had three rooms, and one living space. There was a small tv, a telephone, and a large window that one could view the skyline from. Gou sat on the couch, nonchalantly flipping through a magazine. As Rin walked in, he waved to her but she ignored him.

Brushing it off, he spoke as he walked towards her, "Hey, Gou."

"Mm, yeah, hey," she replied carelessly, not looking up from her magazine. Rin threw the package onto the floor as he walked, not even glancing to watch it slide across the floor.

Looking around, he asked, "Where's Ai?"

"At Sasabe'. It's his turn to take a shift, and you know," she continued, bitterly, "I don't want him to miss out on the thrill of shaking liquor and making drinks for a bunch of grease balls." _  
_

Rin frowned, and crossed his arms, "Look, there's no point in you  continuing to act like a child, unless you want everybody to see you as a child."

Rolling her eyes, Gou looked back to her magazine, mumbling, "Whatever. I'm over it."

Reaching forward, Rin snatched the magazine from his sister. Immediately, she jumped up, shouting, "H-Hey! Give that back! That's mine!"

Shaking his head, Rin explained, "No, listen. First of all, this shit is nonsense and melts your brain, and secondly, we're gonna spend some time with each other."

Groaning, Gou said, "We spend time with each other  _all_ the time! Please, just give me it back."

"Spend time? I mean, I guess, technically, but we don't actually talk and whatever, which you need to grow up into a healthy adult or whatever."

Pouting, Gou looked longingly at the magazine, then to her brother, whispering, almost to herself, "I'm already an adult..."

Slapping her shoulder, lightly, Rin said, "Come on! I even brought you a  _surprise._ "

Her eyes perked up at the word  _surprise,_ and she raised an eyebrow, curiously, "Like what?"

Rin tossed her the bag, and she caught it, peeking inside. Her face lit up, making Rin feel pleased. She looked at her brother, gasping, "H-Holy crap! Where'd you even find these?!"

Reaching into the bag, she pulled out a little ball of colorful tinfoil. She read the label, and shook it next to her ear. They were little chocolate spheres that had been hollowed out, and filled with small toys. In all actuality, they were rather juvenile and Gou was more enamored with the nostalgia that was associated with the candy. They used be extremely popular, but stores began to take them out of their stock due to some sort of health hazard. Gou, for instance, hadn't seen one since she was young, and upon seeing these was taken over with childlike joy, "Holy shit! It's real!"

Rin laughed, saying, "Of course they are! Why would I bring you fake candy?"

Frowning, the girl unwrapped one and nibbled on it. She giggled and looked at her older brother, blushing. She always complained about Rin always doting on her, but sometimes, especially times like these, the redhead actually enjoyed her older brother's presence. Wrapping up what she hadn't eaten, she asked, "You wanted to do something?"

"Yeah, I mean, I gotta do something in a bit, but I figured we could go riding around and stuff before hand."

Nodding, she said, "Fine, let me just get my jacket and stuff."

Rin waited for his sister, before the two made their way down to the lobby, and the road. Rin's motorcycle sat on the side of the road, but Gou's was parked inside a parking garage. Rather than spending time going to get it, Rin just had his sister ride with him. The two drove around, stopping occasionally. At a hot dog stand, where they got a bite to eat. At a fountain that spouted water weakly, but featured a lovely sculpture. At another food place, because Gou had a somewhat alarming appetite and ate rather quickly, without it showing. And so on and so on. The two finally sat down in a dusty park, with scraggly trees and a big playground that was defaced with graffiti. A few people milled around, but mostly everyone was centered around the playground where children ran around shouting, laughing, and occasionally repeating something vulgar. 

The two sat at a bench, watching the people. Leaning back, Rin asked, "So, what's up Gou?"

Gou shrugged, saying, "Nothing."

Rin looked at her, saying, "Really? I mean, like how have you been doing? With all this picking up and moving around all the time."

Tilting her head, she asked, "Does it matter?"

"O-Of course it matters!" Rin barked, before continuing in a gentler tone, "I mean, I just don't want you to be mad at me or something down the road for like stealing your youth or something. Our childhood wasn't exactly ideal, but I want you to be able to enjoy your life."

Gou thought about this for awhile, before saying, "I never really think about those things, though. I mean, I guess you aren't  _stealing_ my life or whatever, because it obviously hasn't bothered me. Like sometimes I think that it'd be nice to have like a regular life, but then again, I've never even had a regular life, so I don't even know what I'm missing. Actually, I feel like you've given me an opportunity. Like, all those years ago you could've left without me, and never looked back but you took me with you. A-And I got to see all these amazing places and meet all these people. If I had _stayed_ I'd probably be dead ten times over. So I'm not mad or anything. I mean, I guess that sometimes it's not the easiest life and I'd rather be someone else, somewhere else, but everybody does that. I guess, for the circumstances, this is what's best, right now."

Rin stared at his sister, who had grown so much since the day the left their parents. Then, she was just a scared, timid kid, but now she was a young woman who didn't need as much brothering as he was always so quick to give her. Of course, this didn't mean that he was going to just let her do whatever, no, he'd still always be on her, but part of him felt pride that she had turned out so well. No, not well, but decent. That's all Rin could ask for, not for her to have become some ultra compassionate of person, but to be a decent person.

"That's a really good way to look at things, Gou. I know I don't tell you this alot, but I'm proud of you."

Gou cupped her face and batted her eyelashed, saying in a squeaky, goofy voice, "Aww, what? You care bout me or somethin'?"

The two burst out laughing, gathering some looks from park patrons, when Rin's watch started beeping. Looking at it, it read, _4:00._ _  
_

_Shit,_  Rin swore internally,  _I gotta go._

Looking at his sister, he groaned inwardly. He was about thirty minutes away from where he had to drop off the package, but he was too far away to drop Gou and make the drop on time. Biting his lips, he stood up saying, "Look, I gotta drop something right now, and I need you to come with me. But you do  _exactly_ what I say, okay."

Gou nodded, before realizing, "Wait! Do you mean I'm going with you t-"

"Shhhh! Shut up, okay. Cool it, Red. This is no big deal. Frankly, I don't see why this excites you so much."

Gou nodded again, but more excitedly. She trailed behind Rin, practically skipping. Rin drove the motorcycle, Gou holding onto him. He paid no attention to his sister, but to the street signs, recalling a mental map of how to get to this destination. Turn here, turn there, keep going straight. Finally, they got to  _Pershing,_ and Rin immediately wished that he had taken Gou back first. The apartment complex was old and decrepit, with graffiti so profane it made the park graffiti look like baby talk. Some homeless people sat on the road, growling at people who passed by them. A group of women stood at a corner, barely dressed. 

Rin got off the bike, and said, "Stay out of trouble."

"Alright. Geez."

Rin got off the bike, carrying the package in a bag. He walked towards the apartment, entering the front door. Gou stood by the bike, trying not to draw attention to herself. She failed. One of the woman from across the street crossed over to her side of the street, before speaking, "Hey, girl."

Gou looked at the woman, and to the building, "Y-Yeah?"

The woman was about Gou's height, but her wickedly tall shoes put her at least four inches over Gou. She had crimson lips, and need to go way easier on the eyeshadow. She was intimidating, but at the same time, she wasn't mean looking. The woman placed one of her hands on her hips, saying, "This ain't no place for a little kid to be hangin' around. It's dangerous in these parts."

Gou nodded, pointing to the building, "Yeah, I'm just waiting for my brother."

"Mm, okay. Well I just was warning you. Be careful. I'd hate for something to happen to you."

Something about the way she said that scared Gou. The woman didn't say it ominously, in fact, she said it casually. So casually, that Gou couldn't help but wonder if 'happenings' weren't an uncommon thing around here. Suddenly, she wasn't as excited, and wasn't sure if she _really_ wanted to go for runs, especially to places like these. Gulping, she looked back to the building. 

After awhile, she saw Rin coming out of the building and sighed with relief. All she wanted was to get out of there. A group of men had gathered on the other side of the sidewalk, and argued, loudly. Rin looked at them, then hurried to Gou, saying, "Let's get out of here."

"Y-Yeah."

As the two began pulling away, the shouting increased and _bang!_

_Bang! Bang Bang!_

Four gunshots went off, and Rin floored the bike, swearing, "Shit! Let's go, let's go!"

Gou turned around for just a second but immediately wished she hadn't. Two men lay on the ground, bleeding. A woman was also laid out, and Gou felt sick. It was the lady that warned her to be careful. She had been alive literally two minutes ago. People ran in all directions, screaming, and ducking. Gou turned not wanting to see anymore carnage. She wrapped her arms tightly around her brother, and choked down vomit. The two kept driving, flying down the roads. Finally getting back to their apartment complex, they got off. Rin looked at his sister, asking, "Gou?! A-Are you okay?"

Gou nodded, but burst into tears. She found her way into Rin's arms and cried against her brothers chest. Rin stroked her hair, as his sister sobbed into his shirt. Quietly, he said, "It's okay, Gou. You're okay, you're okay."

"P-Please don't take m-me to a place like that again. Please."

Rin held her tightly, saying, "Yeah. I promise."

* * *

 Kisumi Shigino felt alive.

He loved, he lived for this. Everyday going on runs, flying through the busy city streets. All the interesting people he met, all the places would go to. Five years prior to this, Kisumi would never be doing this. His parents had been extremely conservative, and he was always told what to do. In fact, five years ago everything his future had been already planned. College, career, even where he would live. Not his decision, of course. No, his parents had a very specific vision for his future, one that didn't actually include his input. His conservative, distant, insensitive parents.

Eventually he couldn't handle all the pressure he was under, and came to an epiphany. He decided that he was going to be the sole arbiter of his life, a decision that didn't resonate so well with his parents. And now here he was, worlds away from home. But his reality was finally living a fun, carefree, simple life.

His life was by no means rough, however. He didn't have much in common with Sousuke and Rin, in terms of their pasts. He didn't mind however. He didn't talk about the past, because there was nothing to talk about. Plus he wasn't the type of person to put all of his business out there.

Currently, he was walking along the sidewalk, just enjoying himself. Recently he had been super swamped with working and delivering, but finally had some downtime. He smiled at the people he passed by, some smiled back, some didn't. All day, he wandered around aimlessly. No destination, no responsibility, nothing.

Around noon he got hungry, and found some deli. Taking his lunch, he sat at a bench, watching as the people passed by. So many people, in such huge numbers, allowing for brief glimpses of themselves, only to be forgotten seconds later. One of them even looked like Makoto. A man stood across the street, reading something on a bulletin.

 _Makoto,_ Kisumi thought, sighing. He had really like him. He was handsome, but also sweet and friendly. Even though he loved Haruka, and even though Kisumi told him to leave him alone, he had tried really hard to make a move, but Makoto hadn't been interested. He had feelings for Haruka, apparently, which only  _slightly_ bothered Kisumi. 

_It's not Haruka's fault he didn't like you, I mean, he knew Makoto much longer, right? Plus, he was interesting...mysterious? Coy? Mm, no, I shouldn't say that. But even then, I'm interesting and mysterious and I can be coy if I really wanted to..._

Hanging his head, Kisumi blushed. He had no reason to be jealous of Haruka. He knew that, knew that he was being irrational. He just hated feeling unwanted, and he had really _really_ liked Makoto. Even now, he stared at the man across the street. He looked so much like Makoto it was almost off-putting. Kisumi looked for a long time, before realizing, it  _was_ Makoto. Standing up, he attempted to get a better view, to be certain, and sure enough, it was him.

Breaking out into a smile, Kisumi waved his hands, shouting over the traffic, "M-Makoto?!"

The brunet didn't hear at first, but after a few more calls turned around, confused. His eyes eventually landed on Kisumi and his face lit up. Waiting for a lull in the speeding cars, Makoto rushed across the street to Kisumi.

Running his hands through his hair, he exclaimed, "K-Kisumi?! Oh my god!"

Kisumi was smiling really hard, and he laughed, absolutely ecstatic to see Makoto. Makoto sighed, face flush, and wrapped his arms around Kisumi. 

"God, you have no idea how glad I am to see you."

 _B-Bmp. B-Bmp b-bmp._ Kisumi's heart sped up in his chest, and he hoped that Makoto couldn't feel it, since they were practically fused together.

 _He's glad to see me..._ Kisumi thought. Makoto broke away, and Kisumi tried to fix his now ruffled hair. Looking at the taller man, Kisumi said, "I'm glad to see you too. W-What are you doing here?"

"I found the note you left me and I followed you guys here, I had to!"

 _He followed me._ Kisumi's heart was truly racing at this point and he was afraid he might faint.

Makoto gripped Kisumi's arms, and said, "I need to ask you something, Kisumi."

_I can't believe it. He's going to ask me out, oh my god. I mean, he followed me here, he's glad to see me, the hug...He totally, completely, absolutely is in love with me. I wonder what made him change his mind. Maybe I am interesting, mysterious and somewhat coy. It doesn't matter. All that matter's is that he's going to tell me now, tell me exactly how he feels, that he l-_

"Can you take me to Haru?"

In an instant, the high Kisumi had been riding on crashed, hard. He was taken aback, and looked at Makoto, asking, "Huh?"

Makoto didn't notice the considerable mood shift, and repeated, "Can you take me to Haru?"

Anger. Sadness. Jealousy. Compassion. Emotions ran through him, and time stood still. He wanted to slap Makoto, but cry, and was so angry, and jealous, yet knew that helping him find Haruka was the right thing to do. He was the one who had jumped to wild conclusions. The emotions fought with each other, each trying to break through to the surface. Jealousy won out. He knew it was wrong, he knew that he shouldn't, but still the words spilled out of his mouth, "I d-don't know where Haru is..."

Makoto's face dropped, and he asked, quietly, "What? H-How?"

Kisumi almost came clean, but decided that it was too late to. Shrugging, he said, "I don't know. Him and Sousuke left, and didn't tell anybody where they were going."

"Wh-What?" the brunet asked, tears pooling in his eyes.

_I'm an ugly person. God, I'm awful. I should just tell the truth. B-But then he'll leave again. He'll leave, and I'll be here, alone. I c-can't._

Tilting his head, he asked, "Is that all you came for?"

Makoto looked down at the ground, whispering, "I just wanted to bring my best friend home. I mean, I hate it here. I've done some stupid stuff since I got here. I just don't want to be alone."

Kisumi felt that a busy sidewalk wasn't exactly the place for catharsis. "M-Makoto do you want to talk about this someplace else? We can go to my place."

Shaking his head, Makoto said, "No, we can just go to my place. It's right down the street."

Kisumi followed the brunet to his dwelling, peeking around Makoto as they entered the bar. Rei stood behind the bar, and Nagisa sat at the counter. Makoto waved, disheartened, saying, "This is Kisumi. An old friend."

The two waved at Kisumi and introduced themselves, who nodded and smiled back at them. Makoto grabbed Kisumi's hand and lead him to the stairwell. Kisumi blushed, trying to memorize the feel of Makoto's hand. At the base of the stairs, he turned around only once. The guy with the glasses was no longer paying attention, but the little blonde, Nagisa was glaring at Kisumi's hand. Then he looked at Kisumi, but had so much fury in his eyes, the towhead looked away, slightly scared.

Makoto brought him to his room, and the two sat on his bed. Makoto looked out the window for a long time, but finally said, "I've always been there for Haruka. Like, ever since we were little. And then when his grandma died, I moved in with him. Wh-When I was older, of course. But I just don't get why he's suddenly cutting me off. M-Maybe it's obvious, and I don't get it. I've always been dumb."

Suddenly Kisumi remembered sitting in a car with Makoto, commenting on his intelligence. The way Makoto said it, it was clear he was insecure about his intelligence. Kisumi felt bad for saying that back then, but not as bad as lying to this guy. Attempting to absolve himself of the lesser guilt, Kisumi said, "You're not dumb."

Makoto shrugged, saying, "It's okay. I know that I am. People have said it all my life. My teachers, my classmates, my boss, even Haru. It doesn't bug me as much as before."

The only thing that consoled him was that Kisumi was genuinely beginning to feel like maybe Makoto shouldn't have anything to do with Haruka.

"But that's exactly why I need him. He's the smart one, the one that always knows what to do. Like, I lost my virginity because I'm stupid and lonely, but now I regret it, and it all goes to show that I can't handle myself!"

Kisumi raised an eyebrow at the virginity comment, but shook it off, trying to be empathetic.

"B-But even if he didn't come back, I just want one  _last_ time to talk to him...and then maybe I'd be okay with being alone," Makoto finished.

Kisumi sighed, saying, "I'll t-try to find Sousuke and Haruka. Wherever they ar-went. Wherever they went. And then I promise you'll get that last talk."

Makoto turned, smiling, saying, "You don't have to do that Kisumi. I m-mean not if you don't want to."

Closing his eyes, Kisumi said, "Yes I do. I owe you one."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Few notes guys. Okay, firstly, this should've been up awhile ago, but I was really lazy about it. 
> 
> I also kind of have no idea what color Kisumi's hair is? Like, I started out saying it was pink, but then shifted to like a towhead kind of thing, and now here we are with nothing but confusion. Let's just say that he had dyed it pink, and it had faded out and he had really light hair. Ahhaahaha. Sorry for being so inconsistent.
> 
> Also, yes, Makoto was a virgin before the chapter before this. Idk, he's not the fornication type???
> 
> But yeah, Kisumi and Rin, because we haven't heard from these goobers in awhile. A little Matsuoka sibling appreciation, for fun, and then because I'm a horrible person there's always some terrible twist. And also (unhealthily) jealous Kisumi. Yeah, what he did was really messed up, but like, who wouldn't do anything to get with Makoto, ya know? 
> 
> Nah, I'm just kidding, that's not okay. But it'll all work out in the end, if certain people live till then. Idk, I'm still trying to work some things out. It'll work out, even though I say that like every update.
> 
> Here, I promise next chapter will have an entire.......will definitely have ONE entirely happy section. No, at this point we can't just write fluff, sorry. It'll work all out though, I say for the billionth time.
> 
> Anyway, thanks for reading and as always leave comments, kudos, message me on tumblr at mihkoshiba, whatever. Bye guys!


	17. Awkward Little Questions

A motorcycle stood in the barren desert, a lone figure amongst the empty landscape. The sun slowly set, changing the sandy tones of the deserts to brilliant hues of orange, yellow and pink. Stone spires jutted into the sky casting interesting shadows onto the ground. The bike cast a shadow itself, and in the shadow lay two people, intertwined.

Haruka lay on top of Sousuke, his head pressed against Sousuke's chest. Sousuke lay nonchalantly with his head behind his back, and the two lay in silence. Not an awkward silence, but a peaceful silence. They didn't need to speak to each other, rather, they were content in just being with each other. As time went on Sousuke became more captivated with Haruka, more grateful that he made the star-crossed decision to look for Haruka again. And as for Haruka, he was simply enamored with Sousuke. Whenever Sousuke wasn't around, Haruka became anxious, always pacing and waiting.

There was still some tension between the two however. Sousuke still beat around the bush about what it was exactly that he did for Sasabe, and Haruka never admitted that he knew. They both always tried to tiptoe around the topic, but it came up far too often and always stung just a little. 

But at that moment, neither thought about it.

After a few more minutes of silence, and the sun set behind the horizon, Sousuke finally shifted, disrupting Haruka's lethargy. As Haruka sat up, Sousuke slapped his leg, saying, "There. We saw it, just like you asked."

"Come on, you liked it too."

Chuckling, Sousuke said, "I don't know if  _sunsets_ are my thing, babe."

"Sousuke, it's not just sunsets, you know. It's just spending time together and getting away from the city and everything. Just you and me, being together even if just for a  _sunset._ "

Rolling his eyes, Sousuke got to his feet, stretching and making a satisfied noise, "If you say so."

He pulled Haruka up to his feet, and the raven smacked him on the arm, playfully. "I know you liked it, Sousuke. You may  _act_ like you're big and tough, but I know that you secretly like sunsets and bunnies and babies and everything like that."

Sousuke pursed his lips, retorting, "That's not true. Don't tell people that. Have you been telling people that?"

Smiling slightly, "Well, if you don't like those things then what do you like?"

Sousuke pulled Haruka closer to him, leaning in very close, and said, "I like you."

Blushing slightly, Haruka said, "You like me, huh? How much?"

"This much," Sousuke answered, leaning in to kiss Haruka. In the dark they became one, time standing still. There was no denying that the two were absolutely taken by each other, no denying that they were soul mates, no denying their love for each other.

When the two finally broke apart, Haruka gasped slightly, breathing in the night air, and Sousuke ran his thumb across Haruka's cheek.

Coyly, Haruka asked, "That much, huh?"

The two broke into laughter and Souske gently slapped Haruka's arm, saying, "Come on, let's go back. It's late and I don't want to be driving and freezing my balls off."

Rolling his eyes, Haruka followed him onto the bike, wrapping his arms around Sousuke's.

Before the brunet started the motorcycle, however, Haruka asked loudly, "Sousuke? Know what I want to do for our next getaway?"

"Hm?"

"I want you to teach me how to ride this thing."

Chuckling, Sousuke promised, "Fine. It's a deal." 

* * *

  _"Swinging in the backyard, pull up in the your fast car, whistling my name. Open up a beer and you bring it over here, playing video games."_

Nagisa sat on the table, singing to the bar. His voice weaved through the crowd and filled the room. Makoto watched him from the back wall, continuously noticing Nagisa look at him, only to flit his eyes away quickly. Ever since Nagisa tried to make a move, it had been extremely awkward between the two. Makoto realized however, that he wasn't exactly free of blame. He had rejected Nagisa, claiming that he wasn't ready for a relationship. But then there was the thing with Ms. Amakata, which wasn't _even_ a relationship but more of a hookup and even more of a mistake. And then there was Kisumi, which was... _complicated._ And as always, there was Haruka.

The problem was that Makoto was always so used to constancy, to the same thing everyday, that being in an entirely new place really affected him. Most days he just wanted to leave, but Haruka was the thing that anchored him to this place. Currently, however, Haruka wasn't at the forefront of his mind, but rather, Nagisa. Makoto had always been a really empathetic person, and was always sensitive to the feelings of other people. It was even worse when he was the one who had made somebody else upset, and he didn't want his relationship with Nagisa to be awkward or for him to have hurt Nagisa.

Furthermore, Rei had also noticed the awkwardness between the two, as he wasn't the one to miss social cues. However, while he was observant, he wasn't confrontational and decided to stay out of the matter. Although he was worried, for Nagisa's sake.

_"It's you, it's you, it's all for you, everything I do. Tell you all the time, heaven is a place on earth with you."_

As Nagisa finished the final line of the song, tears squeezed out of the corners of his eyes. Makoto chuckled, admiring how much passion Nagisa felt when he sang. 

 _He's definitely the emotional type,_ Makoto thought.

Hopping down from the table, Nagisa walked over to where Makoto and Rei stood. Rei smiled and slid a beer bottle across the counter, saying, "Here. F-For your performance."

Nagisa took it, saying wryly, "A beer? I c-can't! It's far too much to accept!"

Rei rolled his eyes, and Makoto laughed loudly. Nagisa looked at Makoto for a second, but quickly looked away. Sensing the uncomfortableness, Rei chuckled awkwardly and walked away, leaving the two in an even more awkward situation.

Nagisa began to walk away as well, but Makoto reached out and grabbed his arm. Pulling him closer, Makoto said, "N-Nagisa can I talk to you for a little?"

"U-Uh, yeah. Yes, of course," Nagisa stammered.

Makoto glanced over at Rei who was pretending to clean glasses, and said to Nagisa, "L-Let's go someplace more...quiet."

Nodding, Nagisa followed Makoto up the stairs, into their room. 

The two entered the room and stared at each other for a moment, until Makoto said, "Look, I know that it's kind of been awkward between us but I don't want it to be. I m-mean, I want us to be friends, like we live together and I just don't like the...uh...awkwardness. So can we, uh, try to I don't know, put this behind us or something?"

Nagisa seemed to process this, but looked down at the floor, his bangs falling into his face. Underneath blonde hair his face burnt and his mind raced. The entire time Makoto spoke, faces ran through Nagisa's head, and questions sat on his tongue, waiting to be spoken.

Makoto played with his thumbs, while intentionally clearing his throat. The silence made him uncomfortable, and he asked, "N-Nagisa?"

The blonde looked up, stuttering, "O-Okay, okay. I just have a few questions to ask, okay?"

"Yeah, of course," Makoto nodded, glad that Nagisa  _seemed_ receptive. Rather, Makoto was just glad they were getting somewhere with a conversation.

"So...let's start with the first question. There isn't actually anything between you and Amakata, right?"

Makoto looked at his feet, blushing beet red, croaking, "Uh, n-no. Nah, there's nothing. That was a mistake. Big one."

Exhaling, Nagisa nodded, processing it for a moment. "Okay, next question. What's going on with you and Kisumi?"

Running a hand through his hair, Makoto chuckled. As Nagisa's questions progressed, Makoto began to doubt his ability to fully answer the questions, without leaving Nagisa with more questions than answers.

"Uh, heh, okay, so the deal with that is that we have a _complicated_ history."

Nagisa raised an eyebrow, urging Makoto to continue. Sheepishly, the brunet complied, "Kisumi likes me, at least he used to. And I mean, I didn't really  _return_ the feeling. But I don't know, honestly. I think we're getting closer, like we're friends, to say the least."

Nodding, Nagisa looked Makoto up and down, and asked, "I just have one more question."

"Yeah, go for it."

Nagisa pursed his lips, before asking, a little tentatively, "What's the whole deal with you and H-Haruka?"

Makoto laughed and shook his head. He didn't want to answer that question, or rather, he didn't  _know_ how to answer that question. But he did want to make things right with Nagisa, and was determined to do so, no matter what.

"Hm, okay, I guess...well...shit. I mean, Haruka and me wer-  _are_ best friends, and then there was some tension. A-And then he just left," Makoto said. As he talked, his voice got shakier, and he realized just how hurt he really was, "But I want to make it right with him, i-if there's something that needs to be made right. I just need closure, you know? I need for him to say if it's time to go our separate ways or whatever. I just really care about him, a-and when you care this much it's not easy to just let go."

"Yeah, I get it. I know how hard it is to let go of something,  _especially_ when you really care," Nagisa said, "I know."

As Nagisa finished his sentence, he smiled softly. He squeezed Makoto's arm, but rushed out of the room, afraid to cry or do something stupid in front of Makoto. And the thing that Makoto said about Haruka, Nagisa had no idea how he could even compete with such strong emotions. 

Later that same night, after the bar closed, after they helped Rei clean up, and as they lay in their bed, another question came into Nagisa's head. 

He called out in the dark, asking, "Makoto?"

Sleepily, the brunet replied, "Yeah?"

"I just have one more question."

"Yeah?"

Nagisa sat up, unable to see Makoto, and asked, "Why not me? Like, what don't I have?"

Makoto rolled over, and said, after a long pause, "I mean, it's not that you're missing something. I don't know. B-But you're not missing anything."

Nagisa nodded, before realizing that Makoto couldn't see him. "O-Okay."

Rolling over, a smile spread across the blonde's face. Maybe Makoto's feelings were alot stronger for Haruka, but at least there was a chance for himself. Slim, but there, and given the circumstances, he'd take it.

* * *

_BAM!_

"Where the _hell_ is Sousuke?!"

Kisumi and Rin stood side by side, as Sasabe berated the two. For the past few days, Sousuke had been slacking off. His deliveries were late, he was careless, he was preoccupied, and while Kisumi and Rin knew why he was off his game, they certainly didn't tell Sasabe. Especially not when their boss had both of his hands against his desk, face bright red, literally exuding rage.  _  
_

Kisumi looked to Rin, hinting that this was his one to take. Rin glared, but looked to Sasabe, and said, "I'm sure that he's out working. Probably catching up, Goro."

"Bullshit," Sasabe said, leaning in, "I'm not an idiot, and you two know it. My problem is that, for some  _unknown_ reason, that I'm sure you two know  _nothing_ about, Sousuke has been slacking off. And when he slacks off, he costs me money. The same money that goes into your apartments and whatever else you spend your money on."

Rin stood, mouth agape, not knowing what to say. Kisumi stepped up, and said, calmly, "Okay, alright. You've made your point. What do you want us to do?"

Sasabe sat back down, recomposing himself. His face was still red and his hair was slightly disheveled, but he had calmed down significantly. Leaning back, he knitted his hands together and said, "Okay, listen up. I don't  _want_ you to do anything. I  _need_ you two to put your boy Sousuke back on track, and if you do, then there won't be any questions asked."

Rin gave an uneasy smile, and quickly said, "Yes sir. Done."

Holding up a hand, Sasabe continued, "But wait."

Kisumi and Rin practically leaned in, making sure not to miss a single word, "If you two can't deal with Sousuke, then I'm afraid that I'll have no choice but to take care of business  _myself._ And we don't want that."

The two shook their heads before bumping into each other, and then scampering out of the room.

As the two stood outside of  _Domino's,_ Rin looked at Kisumi, before saying, "I really don't understand why he's so upset."

Crossing his arms, Kisumi said, "That doesn't matter. What matters is that you tell Sousuke what's going on."

"Wait! Wait wait wait. Why do  _I_ have to tell Sousuke?"

Shrugging, Kisumi answered, "You're his friend, aren't you?"

"Aren't you?!"

"But you're his  _best_ friend," Kisumi answered smugly.

Rin grumbled and looked at the ground. "Fine."

Slapping on the back, Kisumi laughed, "Great! I've actually gotta run, so you take care of business and I'll meet up with you later."

Rin looked up, asking, "Hold on. What do you gotta do?"

Kisumi drowned out Rin's question, however, with the rev of his motorcycle, and drove away, leaving Rin standing alone on the sidewalk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uggggghhhh.
> 
> I'm so sorry that this chapter took this long and was so mediocre. Aah, I've just been really busy and this chapter has been slowly working its way out. This was probably one of the hardest chapters to write so far.
> 
> But nevertheless, here it is! And as I promised, it's not an angsty one! But there was at least tension at the end with Sasabe. He really is a dark horse, you guys will see later.
> 
> And I promise that Rei's character is going to develop later on. He's not just a minor character, there will be a character arc for him. In fact, Nagisa's is somewhat coasting down. So yeah.
> 
> And we're almost done! Maybe like ten more chapters or so.
> 
> Anyways, like always thanks for reading, and please leave comments, suggestions, and all that good junk!
> 
> Okay guys! Thanks again!


	18. Visits

Haruka lay, ear pressed against Sousuke's chest. He was wide awake, yet had his eyes shut, only aware of the steady heartbeat resonating from Sousuke's warm body. Sousuke, was genuinely asleep, snoring softly, despite it being late morning. He had an arm wrapped around Haruka, but other than that, was fully oblivious to the fact that his lover was awake.

The couple had an extremely late night, staying up together, doing risqué things. And now, hours later, as the outside world was in full throttle, the two lay, unaware and indifferent to outside affairs.

Closing his eyes, Haruka was almost about to go back to sleep, when a loud rapping against the apartment door stirred him. Standing up, he quickly grabbed the first shirt he could find, which was Sousuke's, and ran to the door in the other room. The knocking got quicker and louder, the longer the door went unanswered, and Haruka somehow knew that behind the door he'd find a temperamental redhead behind it. 

Nonetheless, he checked through the peephole, confirming his hunch about Rin being on the other side. What he didn't expect, however, was for Kisumi to be there as well. Sousuke lethargically walked into the room, yawning, "Who's at the door?"

Haruka turned, surprised that Sousuke had awoken from hibernation, and said, "S-Sousuke, oh. It's, uh, Rin and Kisumi."

Sousuke scratched his head and began walking to the door. Before Sousuke could open the door, Haruka placed a hand on his chest, reminding him, "You're in your underwear."

Still half asleep, Sousuke looked down, grumbling. Haruka held his hands up, saying, "Here, wait and I'll get you some clothes."

As Haruka rushed to the other room, Sousuke shouted, "Just get me some pants."

Running out of the room, Haruka practically threw them to Sousuke. The knocking was really loud now and no doubt they'd get a complaint from the landlord. Sousuke finally opened the door, just as Haruka expected Rin to bash the door down, and asked "What?"

Rin's face was red with anger, and Kisumi only looked slightly amused. With a fake smile, Rin said, "Oh, nothing Sou. We just stopped by to see how your vacation was going."

Raising an eyebrow, Sousuke said, "I'm not on a vacation."

"Exactly! Yes, exactly! You're  _not,_ which is why Sasa-"

Kisumi held his hand out, silencing Rin, and leaned in, whispering, "What Rin means is that we have something to tell you from Sasabe. About..."

He trailed off, and all three of them looked at Haruka. Sousuke whispered something to the duo, and they stepped back, into the hall. Turning around, Sousuke said, "Hey babe, why don't you wait in the room for a bit?"

"Why?"

Rubbing the back of his neck, Sousuke said, "Uh, I just gotta take care of some work stuff."

Remembering the secrets Sousuke kept from him, Haruka decided to keep badgering, "What kind of stuff?"

"Some business deals that need to be taken care of. The usual."

Nodding, Haruka continued, "Mm, okay. Wait, what do you do again?"

"U-Uh, deliveries and odd jobs. Please, wait in the room for me."

"Okay, okay," Haruka said, walking slowly to the room, "Just take care of whatever, and then you can tell me all about it. I mean, it's not like you keep secrets from  _me,_ right?"

Sousuke chuckled uneasily, and said, "P-Please wait. Just a few minutes."

As Sousuke shut the door behind him, Haruka practically leaped to the front door. He placed his ear against, finally glad for the thin walls of the apartment. While most of the conversation was obscured, he could just make out bits and pieces.

"Wow, somebody's completely whipped, huh?  _Please please wait for me baby. Pleaaase."_

 _Kisumi,_ Haruka thought, chuckling.

 _SLAP._ Haruka recoiled a little, hearing somebody, no doubt Sousuke hitting Kisumi.

"Shut up, what's the problem?"

_Sousuke._

"The problem is that you've been slacking off, playing boyfriend all the time! You need to focus on work!"

_Rin always sounds like he's going to pop a blood vessel._

"I am focused," Sousuke said.

A portion was unclear, as the trio lowered their voices, and Haruka couldn't make any distinctions from the murmuring. Suddenly Kisumi raised his voice and said, "Look, we're on _your_ side, always. B-But Sasabe is really really pissed, and he's losing money when you don't make deliveries. You need to make that up to him. You know how he gets about money, remember when...."

Some more murmuring, but Haruka's ears perked up, when Sousuke said his name, "Okay, I'll get focused again. But what about Haruka? What's he supposed to do all day?"

"He can work at Domino's."

"I don't want him working there, I don't want him in that kind of  _environment._ "

"Just make him stay home, transform him into a homemaker," Kisumi said.

"No way, he's too stubborn..." Sousuke muttered, barely audible.

More indistinct murmuring before Rin's voice became clear above the others, "Whatever, Sousuke! J-Just get your head out of your ass and stop playing around!"

Rin stomped off, footsteps fading away, leaving Kisumi and Sousuke in an awkward silence. Even from behind the door Haruka felt slightly uneasy. The silence continued, before Sousuke asked, "What's his problem?"

"He's fine...Yeah."

"Kisumi, seriously. What's his deal? He's more aggressive than usual."

"It's just...It's just that you've kind of been ditching Rin. Like, when was the last time you guys talked, like really had a conversation?"

"I haven't been ditching Rin..."

"You guys are best friends, just talk to him. I gotta go, Sousuke. I'll see you, I guess."

Silence. Haruka leaned into the door, straining to check if Kisumi was still there, when Sousuke slammed his fist against the apartment door. Flinching, Haruka scrambled away from the door, as Sousuke futzed with the door handle. Practically leaping onto the couch, he grabbed a magazine off of the coffee table, and pretended to idly flip through it. Panting lightly, Haruka turned as Sousuke opened the door. His face was broodier than usual, and he didn't even look at Haruka.

Haruka furrowed his brow, slightly concerned and asked, "Was everything alright?"

Sousuke brushed him off, answering brusquely, "Yeah, everything's fine. I gotta go out for a bit, and I need you to stay home for awhile."

"You don't seem fine," Haruka said, as Sousuke walked into their bedroom, "H-Hey, don't ignore me if you're upset!"

Getting up, Haruka followed him into the room. From behind the door, Sousuke didn't sound upset, but Haruka could see that his conversation with Rin and Kisumi deeply upset him. In fact, he had _never_ seen him like this before. It dawned on him how little they _really_  knew each other. On top of that, Haruka could tell that Sousuke was going to shut him out and bottle up his frustrations.

Standing beside him, Haruka placed a tentative hand on Sousuke's shoulder, "Sousuke, you don't seem fine."

"I'm fine."

Sousuke pulled a shirt over his head, pushing Haruka away. Grabbing his keys off the nightstand, he made for the door.

Haruka trailed after him, shouting, "W-Wait! Hey, I said wait! If you're upset you should vent. Sousuke, talk to me. Sousuke!"

Stopping, Sousuke put his hands out, grabbing Haruka. He looked Haruka in the eyes, saying emptily, "I'm fine. I need you to stay here."

Haruka grabbed Sousuke's shirt, pleading, "Wait, seriously! You're upset and you know it! If this is about Rin, then-"

"S-Stop! I just need some time! Leave me alone, okay?" Sousuke shouted, jerking away.

Haruka watched him leave, mouth agape. 

"What the hell..."

* * *

 Gou and Aiichirou lay on her bed, side by side. The redhead nonchalantly flipped through a magazine, chewing gum loudly. Aiichirou also had a magazine, but pored over it with significantly less zest. He lazily scanned it through, taking entire minutes to finish a page, but not actually processing any of it. 

Closing a magazine, Gou reached over for a new one, and noticed Aiichirou's lethargy.

Sitting up, she adjusted her hair, and shook him lightly.

"Ai?"

Not turning, he mumbled, "Yeah?"

Shaking him again, she continued, "Are you feeling okay? You've been acting...weird lately."

"Y-Yeah. I'm fine."

Gou furrowed her brow, asking again, "Aiichirou, what the hell? Seriously, just tell me what's going on!"

Aiichirou sat up, sighing deeply. He grabbed at the comforter, and rubbed his fingers over the fabric. Finally, he said, "I don't know. I just feel like there's no  _purpose_ in my life. I'm not going anywhere, I'm not doing anything, I'm just like  _existing_."  


Gou sat up straight, chuckling, taken aback by Aiichirou's sudden severity, "Wh-What? Where is all this even coming from? Aiichirou, literally nothing has been serious in our lives since forever! I mean, like all we've literally done for like two years is drive around and then like hang out here and there."

"E-Exactly! I mean that doesn't bother you?"

Thinking for only a moment, Gou said, matter-of-factly, "Nope. Not really."  

Huffing, Aiichirou continued, "But Gou, two years? Gone and nothing to show for it?"

Scooting closer Gou said, "Can I ask you one thing? What's the  _sudden_ fixation with all this?"

Shrugging, he answered, "I just feel like I'm gonna grow old, and then have all these regrets. Like I don't just want to be a bartender or whatever."

"Well what do you want to do?"

After a long pause, Aiichirou answered, "Maybe I need to just go off and find myself. Start over. New city, new face. I just don't want to wake up and have a bunch of regrets, you know. Like I don't want to regret potentially wasting my youth, or whatever."

Gasping, Gou said, "Wh-What? But what about the group?"

Laughing, Aiichirou said, "The group? I mean, Rin is the only one besides you that I've actually talked to in like the past....weeks. Like I don't even know where Sousuke and Kisumi even stay. I don't think they'd notice really. B-Besides, I just said maybe. I need to think about it."

Resting her head on his shoulder, Gou said softly, "Well, whatever decision you make, I'll support you. Because you're my best friend and I want you to be happy. I'd miss you though."

Smiling softly, eyes welling up, Aiichirou said, "I'd miss you too, Gou."

"Just don't rush off too quick okay? Because I'm not taking your shifts at Domino's." _  
_

Both of them busted out into laughter, laying back down.

When Aiichirou finally caught his breath, he answered, " _We'll see._ "

* * *

The smell of cleaner permeated throughout the first floor of  _Ama-chan's._ The bar was actually empty, and Rei was making the most of the day off, by cleaning every inch of the bar. Alone of course. He asked Makoto to run a series of errands and Nagisa tagged along. At first, it hadn't bothered Rei so much, but now Nagisa and Makoto had become closer than ever, which usually meant that they also blew off Rei.

Rei was somewhat jealous, and didn't fully understand their whole chemistry. Initially, Nagisa distanced himself from Makoto, but in the blink of an eye, they had become almost inseparable. He wasn't sure if they were a  _thing,_ or just close, or what. 

"Not that anybody would tell me..." Rei grumbled. 

To add further insult to injury, Rei had almost, for a split second, believed that he had something with Nagisa.

Getting somewhat irritated, he threw himself into the cleaning, carrying himself away. After almost an hour of cleaning, the door opened.

Looking up, he expected to see Makoto and Nagisa, but was surprised to see Miho standing there, clad in white, polished from head to toe, straight from the cities wealthy interior.

With a wave of her hand, she joked, "Whew! That's really strong, Rei. How many times have you fainted?"

Laughing, Rei answered, "Zero, Ms. Miho. In fact, I actually really enjoy this smell."

Rubbing her finger on an immaculate table, and said, boredly, "How interesting."

Rei continued to watch her as she walked around the entire bar, uninterestedly inspecting it. Finally, she came round to the counter, and said, "Everything looks really nice, Rei. Well done. Very well done."

Smiling, Rei said, "Thank you very much! I do my best to keep your bar looking it's best."

"So you do," Miho said, looking around again. Her eyes wandered to the staircase, then back to Rei, and she said, "Where are the others? Nagisa and the big one."

"O-Oh, they're just running some errands, while I cleaned."

Placing a hand on her chest, she said, "Oh, you cleaned by yourself? Oh, Rei. My dear Rei. You always work so _hard._ You're such a good employee."

Blushing slightly at the praise, Rei opened his mouth, but his boss continued, switching from appreciative back to apathetic, "And that's why it makes it so hard for me to come here."

She paused, looking to Rei, seeing if he was keeping up. He was.

"You see, my sweet Rei, I'm not just here to check on my bar, but I also have a request of you."

Rei was slightly off put by the way she was talking, but said, "Of course."

"See, I have some... _friends_ coming from out of town and they're probably be frequenting this place alot. Now, I'm not asking for much, they won't be staying here, but they will be using this place almost as a  _base of operations,_ so to speak."

Grabbing his hands and looking him in the eyes, she continued, "And Rei, my dear, I need you to help them in any way possible.  _Any way._ "

"Y-Yes!" Rei promised, feeling uneasy.

With a bright, perfect smile, Miho sang, "Perfect! Awh, I  _knew_ you wouldn't let me down! I've got to run now, I'm very busy of course, but I will come back and bring you further information. I've got to run now."

As she scurried to the door, heels clicking against the floors, Makoto and Nagisa entered, carrying various boxes and bags. They stepped out of Miho's way, and smiled. Miho paused and looked at them, with a warm, "Hello boys!"

Continuing out, she looked back to Rei and winked, slamming the door. 

Nagisa raised an eyebrow and asked, "What was Miho doing here?"

Rei didn't answer immediately, stuck in a stupor of thought, over her ominous words.

_Any way._

"R-Rei?"

Rei finally snapped back to attention, saying, "Huh? O-Oh, nothing. She was just checking on the bar, you know. Usual inspections."

Something about her tone made Rei think that their conversation was supposed to be rather confidential. He'd definitely bring up some of the questions he now had, when he next saw his boss, which she said would be sometime rather soon, one of which included if he could tell his coworkers.

Putting the cleaner away behind the counter, Rei said, "Do you guys need help with those boxes?"

_Just continue business as usual, Rei._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay another slowly grinded chapter!! Aah sorry.
> 
> But here this is, with some angst, ominous foreshadowing, and existential crises, so we're back to our regularly scheduled program, after our brief happy chapter.
> 
> Ehehe, the Rei arc is going to start, and the Aiichirou/Gou arc as well, because I've been neglecting them. Also, the Kisumi arc is going to pick up again in a bit.
> 
> As always please please please leave comments and kudos and whatnot!
> 
> Sorry for the wait, but thanks for reading guys!


	19. Cracks

Kisumi sat on a fire escape, looking out at his world. Cars flew through the streets, sounds weaved their way through the buildings creating a cacophony of sounds. People came and went, flickering in and out of his line of sight.

He breathed out a puff of smoke, from the cigarette he held in his hand, and waved it away. Taking another breath, he coughed, inhaling too much. Groaning, he flicked the cigarette, watching it fall to the streets far below.

Standing up, he brushed off his pants and walked back into his apartment. It wasn't as big as Sousuke and Haruka's, or Rin and the others, and was in the seediest part of town. In fact, it was made up of two rooms, a bedroom and a joint living room and kitchen. There weren't any decorations on the wall, and the furniture was very plain. 

Honestly, it hardly bothered Kisumi. He was hardly home, always running deliveries or spending time with Makoto. But as of late, Kisumi had mostly focused on working. He had lied to Makoto, and he felt really guilty about it and was trying to figure out how to fix it.

And his solution, for now, was to avoid it completely.

Sluggishly, he made his way over to the couch and jumped onto it. While his apartment was kind of gritty, he did have the single luxury of having a television. A black and white, small, squat box that got a couple of channels.

Reaching for the remote, he turned on the tv, and flipped through the channels, settling on some old western film. As gunshots rang out on the television, and a woman weeped for her dying lover, Kisumi's eyes fluttered shut, and he was asleep.

For three hours, Kisumi slept, unaware that the movie had ended and another one began. He was finally stirred from his sleep by somebody knocking on his door.

At first, he just ignored it, figuring it was just some salesman or something, but the knocking didn't cease, only growing in volume. 

Groaning, he sat up, wiping his mouth. Standing up, he stretched his arms, and said, "I'm coming. I'm coming."

Walking to his door, he looked through the eyehole and was momentarily taken aback at the unrecognizable figure who stood behind the door. Kisumi unlocked the door chain then the knob, and slightly opened the door, saying, "H-Hello?"

The person who stood behind the door tried to peek through the crack, asking, "Uh, Kisumi?"

"Who are you?"

After an awkward silence, the person said, "It's, uh, Nagisa. Nagisa Hazuki. F-From the b-"

With the name associated to the face, he realized, "Oh! Okay, okay! Sorry, I didn't realize. I didn't recognize you."

Nodding, Nagisa rubbed his arms, saying, "It's okay, it's okay..."

"O-Oh, come in!" Kisumi said, realizing the awkwardness of them speaking in the hallway of Kisumi's tenement.

Opening the door all the way, Nagisa entered Kisumi's apartment and scanned the room. Kisumi gestured to the couch, and Nagisa sat. Sitting across from him, Kisumi asked, "What are you doing all the way out here? I m-mean this place is kinda..."

"Kinda the ghetto," Nagisa finished, brusquely.

Scratching the back of his neck, Kisumi blushed, "Y-Yeah. Kinda the ghetto."

Raising an eyebrow, Nagisa asked, "Why are you staying out here?"

Shrugging, Kisumi answered, "Uh, cheap rent."

"Makes sense, I guess." 

Kisumi sighed, awkwardly. Sticking his thumbs in his pockets, Kisumi asked, "Wh-Why are you here? I m-mean, like, why come out all the way here? We hardly know each other and we rarely talk besides when we're around Makoto a-"

"A-Actually," Nagisa interrupted, "That's why I'm here. To talk about Makoto."

Blush spread across Kisumi's face, as he asked, "W-What is there to talk about? I mean, Makoto is my friend, Makoto is your friend, and-"

"Don't lie," Nagisa said with a sudden severity, "I'm not stupid. I know that you want to be more than just  _friends_ with Makoto, so don't lie."

Taken aback, Kisumi said, "Wait, hold on. Did you seriously come all the way over here, to  _my_ apartment, to tell me to back off Makoto or something?" _  
_

Nagisa's face turned bright red, and he stammered, "W-Wait, no! Th-That has nothing to do with this, I don't even th-think about Makoto like that."

" _I d-don't even th-think about M-Makoto like that,"_ Kisumi mocked, "I'm not stupid either, okay. If you're gonna come over here to, I don't know, try and decide who has the right of way or something then-"

Nagisa raised his voice, cutting off Kisumi, saying, "Tha-That's not what this is about, okay! We're not like thirteen year olds, Kisumi, and that's not what this is about."

"Then what?!" Kisumi shouted, "Stop beating around the bush!"

"You  _lied_! O-Okay, you lied to Makoto."

The room grew extremely quiet, and Kisumi choked, "What?"

Nagisa was panting slightly, and his face was still really red, "You lied to Makoto. You're a liar, Kisumi."

Rubbing his nose, Kisumi said, "N-No, I'm not. I didn't-"

"You did."

The two sat in awkward silence, Kisumi looking at the ground. After awhile, Kisumi finally whispered, "H-How did you figure it out?"

Huffing, Nagisa said, "Well, every time Makoto asks about Haruka you always give a different story, and it never matches up. Makoto hasn't realized you lied because he's really trusting and  _really_ dumb, but I'm not."

"Did you tell him?"

"No, I didn't."

Narrowing his eyes, Kisumi asked, "Why?"

"Because I'm a reasonable person and I'm not just going to screw you over."

"What do you want?" 

Standing up, Nagisa said, "I'm not going to tell him, but in exchange for my  _discretion,_ I don't want you to come around anymore."

"This _is_ about claiming Makoto or something."

Shrugging, Nagisa said, "Interpret it however you want. I don't care. I just don't want to see you anymore."

Kisumi watched the blonde leave his apartment, completely dumbstruck.

* * *

 A large square building stood in the outskirts of a small city, practically baking in the desert heat. In big letters above the building's entrance, it read _Quality Inn_ , in big, mostly burnt out fluorescent letters. The inn, which was really just a motel, was pocked with faded doors. Outside a few of these doors stood a bunch of motorcycles, parked side by side, a young woman standing beside it.

Upon closer inspection, one would find that they were all painted the same shade of yellow with a red dragon on the side of it, which was the signature of the Red Dragons biker group. The girl next to the motorcycle was smoking a cigarette, breathing puffs of smoke into the air, until a large brunet walked up to her, saying, "Oi, Chigusa. Seijuuro is looking for you."

Completely indifferent, she sighed, "Seijuuro knows where I am."

"W-Well, I think he wants you to go to him so..."

Huffing, she said, "Look, Minami, I'm really trying to enjoy this cigarette, so Seijuuro can come out here."

Throwing his arms up in exasperation, Minami mumbled something and turned around, walking back to the hotel room.

Chigusa continued to silently smoke her cigarette, flicking her eyes to Seijuuro's door occasionally.

"Chigusa!"

Whipping around, Chigusa hissed, " _What Minami?"_

Minami, looking down at the ground, said, "Uh, there's somebody calling for you. Wouldn't say who, and I really don't even know how they even knew where to call us from but they specifically requested you."

Chigusa tilted her head curiously, and threw the cigarette to the ground, stepping on it. 

Once inside, Chigusa picked up the hotel phone and held it to her ear, "Hello?"

"Chigusa?"

"Miho?!" Chigusa exclaimed. She was truly taken aback, not hearing from the woman for months now. Not to mention the suddenness of the phone call or even how Miho had located her.

"Look dear," Miho explained, "I don't have alot of time to talk, always busy you know, but we do need to speak. Are you alone?"

Glancing to Minami, she made a zipping motion across her mouth, then answered, "Yeah. I am."

"Where's Seijuuro?"

"I'm not sure. Out and about."

Chigusa heard the sigh from the other side of the phone and could practically picture the woman on the other line frowning, wrinkles briefly appearing on her smooth face.

Before Miho responded, Chigusa continued, "Why do you ask?"

"Well Chigusa," Miho said, "I was just wondering what you kids are up to these days?"

"Just trying to stay busy," Chigusa said, catching on to what Miho was beating around, "Yeah, Sei is actually thinking about us riding on down south and then east. See what's going on down there."

Minami gave Chigusa an odd look, raising his eyebrow. Shaking his head, he mouthed,  _No we're not._

Despite the fact that he didn't make noise, Chigusa still held her finger up to her mouth.

"South?" Miho asked, a hint of surprise in her voice.

"Y-Yeah," Chigusa continued, "Seijuuro just decided that there's nothing here anymore and we need money."

Miho, with her breathy laugh, exclaimed, "Well Chigusa, I'm just a godsend then, because I was actually going to ask Seijuuro if he was interested in a business opportunity I have. I'll pay big."

Yet again the girls' intuition was spot on. She knew that Miho had only contacted them because of some ulterior motive and not just to play catch up. And the woman was playing right into Chigusa's hands.

Sighing, Chigusa feigned disappointment, saying, "Oh Miho, I don't know. Seijuuro actually got an offer from somebody down there. It'll pay real well and he's pretty set on it."

Again, Minami was absolutely lost but Chigusa paid him no attention, fully engrossed in the sham fantasy.

"H-How much is he being offered?" Miho asked.

Chigusa smirked, lying, "Twelve percent of the whole deal."

For awhile there was a really long silence, and Chigusa wondered if Miho had actually hung up on her, but she finally replied. The feigned cheeriness was gone, and she said, "Look, I can only offer you fourteen percent, nothing more."

"Alright, that sounds reasonable. I'll run it by Seijuuro."

Coldly, Miho ended the conversation with, "Fine. Be here in a week in a half, unless you don't take the offer. But notify me if you don't."

_Beep._

Smiling, Chigusa turned around to Minami, cheering, "A fourteen percent commission!"

Running a hand through his hair, Minami asked, "But why did you lie about all those things?"

"Uh, to get her to give us a real sweet deal. Duh."

Minami shook his head, saying, "You're real sneaky Chigusa. _If that's even your name._ "

Rolling her eyes, she said, "Whatever, Minami. I'm gonna smoke a menthol and then tell Seijuuro.  _Don't_ bother me this time."

* * *

 

Haruka lay in the bed, wrapped in a blanket. 

The strong sunlight filtered in through the venetian shades, which were still shut despite it being at least one in the afternoon. The world lay just beyond the window, alive and loud. Haruka, however, lay in complete silence in the lonely apartment.

Sousuke had left much earlier, kissing Haruka on the forehead before leaving. Haruka barely noticed and didn't say goodbye to him.

The high Haruka had been feeling for so long had come crashing down, and he found himself in the same position he always was in. Boredom. However, Haruka didn't blame anybody but himself for it. The time he spent with Sousuke was always so good and the spark he felt energized him like never before. 

But as it ebbed, Haruka found himself bored again. His idleness did nothing to help his boredom either. No job, no friends, nothing to do except be content with lethargy. 

Even if he did have friends or job, he still deep down knew that it wouldn't be enough. There'd always be something that Haruka would be searching for. Something else to light the fire within him. But he couldn't ever find it. 

Except that wasn't true. He could find it but never keep it. He'd find it for a moment, a brief moment, and then it'd be gone as soon as it came. 

He thought he found it with Sousuke, but as of recent events it had considerably subsided. Not to mention that Sousuke wasn't everything he had thought him to be. The fantasy was starting to crack, the truth seeping through the breaks.

Haruka was a mess. Everything about his life he could define as a mess. His friendships, messy. His relationships, messy. His  _life,_ messy. With reckless abandon, Haruka acted on impulse. Almost as if he was addicted to the thrill of the rush.

Finally stirring, Haruka sat up as he heard the front door of his apartment creaking open. Grabbing at the blankets, he pulled it to his chest, watching the door.

Sousuke walked into the room, suddenly stopping. Raising an eyebrow, he asked, "Have you been in bed all day?"

Laying back down, Haruka sighed, "Yeah."

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Haruka responded.

Sousuke came over, sitting at the foot of the bed. As he unlaced his shoes, Haruka crawled over to where he sat, and sat behind him, resting his head on Sousuke's back.

"Are you sure you're okay, Haruka?"

Slighlty aggravated, Haruka said, "I can't just be affectionate? Sorry."

"N-No, that's not it. It's just that you seemed out of it when I came in."

Scoffing, Haruka scooted away, "Sorry."

Turning around, Sousuke said, "Hey, what's your deal? Why are you being so weird?"

Rustling his hair, he answered, "I don't know."

Sousuke scooted closer to him, slowly coming face to face with him. Leaning in, he whispered, "I kinda like it."

Leaning forward, he kissed Haruka lightly on the mouth. 

Flopping down onto the bed, Sousuke let out a long groan, putting his hands behind his head. 

Haruka laid on his chest, saying, "Take me somewhere tonight."

"What?"

"Please, Sousuke," Haruka begged, "I'm going crazy being here everyday and night. Let's just go do something."

Sousuke pursed his lips saying, "Well, you're not like a prisoner so you can leave anytime."

"Yeah, but I don't know the place and I don't know anybody."

"Well, that won't change if you just stay here all the time," Sousuke answered.

"Please?"

Turning away, Sousuke said, "I'm really tired babe. I promise that I'll take you out sometime."

"Okay," Haruka said quietly. Laying back down, Haruka looked at Sousuke's back, adding, "Sometime soon, right?"

"Eh, sometime in the future." Sousuke said, hesitantly.

Crack. Crack. Crack.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The long long end to my hiatus. 
> 
> Aaaah, sorry this was so long overdue guys.
> 
> But yeah, here's the new update. Kinda short, but still here. Things are moving, story lines are converging, we're picking back up. Full speed ahead.
> 
> As always, leave comments and whatnot. Also you can always contact me at mihkoshiba on tumblr. 
> 
> Thanks for reading guys!


	20. Adventure's Over

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MAJOR DEATH IN THIS CHAPTER. JUST LETTING Y'ALL KNOW

Haruka walked along the street, cars and people racing by. Signs glowed and advertised above head, indicating where to get food or books or cigarettes and liquor. Haruka rarely stopped at these stores and if he did it was only for food, but he had started to walk around during the day. He found that he could not be so preoccupied with staying at home and doing nothing but he also began to learn what's what in the general area.

In a way it gave him control of something, gave him an actual complete knowledge of something. And complete knowledge was something he lacked lately in his life. Lack of what Sousuke did or who he really was. Lack of what was going on back home with his friends. Lack of this. Lack of that.  _Lack._ The more he thought the word, the more it even seemed real. 

But he didn't care. He cared very little actually and often found himself falling into that boring despair he was all to familiar with, that there was no escape from, that always caught up with him. 

After what seemed to be only minutes, or maybe hours, he had made a complete circle back to his apartment building and sighed.

 _Might as well go inside,_ Haruka thought,  _Or I could go for another five laps._

Deciding he'd rather do nothing inside than waste energy doing nothing outside. He took the elevator slowly up, reaching his floor. As he walked to his apartment, he took note of someone standing outside his door.

_Nitori._

He waved at Nitori, but didn't say anything. 

As the younger man noticed Haruka, his eyes widened and he said, "Oh! H-Haru! Hey. I was looking for Sousuke."

"He's not there?"

Nitori shook his head, causing Haruka to sigh.  _Of course._

"Well," Haruka sighed, "What did you need from him?"

Scratching his neck, Nitori shrugged, "Uh, I have a...package...to deliver and was going to ask Sousuke to come with me."

"Oh. Well......I'll go with you."

Nitori turned red and stammered, "I, uh, do-- You d-don't have to do that. I mean it's not a big d-deal and I don't..."

Not knowing what to say, he instead looked at the ground and said nothing.

 Haruka didn't want to pass up the opportunity to possibly do...not something  _exciting_...but to do  _something._ The two stood in the hall for awhile, in awkward silence and said nothing. Haruka finally broke the lull, asking, "So are we going?"

Exhaling, Nitori said, "Sure. I guess."

* * *

 "Where are we going?" Haruka asked, over the sound of the wind.

He held on to Nitori as the bike sped through traffic. Nitori weaved between vehicles and drove quickly through the city. Haruka's boredom was allayed for the moment and he couldn't help but feel adventurous.

Nitori didn't turn around but said, loudly, "I have some package to deliver. Honestly, I'm not exactly sure what it is. A-And I've never been to this part of the city."

Haruka felt absolutely energized and excited for the delivery. Unknown waters and mystery packages. 

 _And to think. I could've been moping around the streets,_ Haruka thought.

Finally, the two got to the destination Nitori had been sent to. The part of the city they were in was poorly maintaned and reeked. Graffiti defiled the walls and one could become acquainted with all the local gangs through a cursory glance at the graffiti. Garbage piled up in the streets and rats scurried around. The buildings were old and ugly, with moss growing on them and water damage.

_Gross._

"Gross," Nitori said, scrunching his nose.

Nodding, Haruka looked around again and said, "Yeah. Lil' bit."

Clapping his hands together, Nitori said, "Well, this letter just says to meet him here at this intersection at 4:30. That's a few minutes away, so we just wait."

The two waited in silence, until Nitori asked, "Been up to anything lately?"

Haruka shook his head, then asked, "You?"

Rustling his hair, Nitori said, "Eh. I don't know. I'm trying to figure stuff out and get a big picture of what I want or whatever."

"I get that. Like I  _really_ get that." Haruka replied.

After that they returned to silence, until Haruka said, "There. The guy in that hoodie has walked past this intersection four times. Maybe he's your guy."

"Y-Yeah, you're probably right."

The two walked over to him, cautiously. The guy was jittery and had a dirty look to him. He had a mean face and scars along his arms. His face was unwashed and poorly groomed. Haruka tried to not show such open disdain.

Nitori tentatively tapped his shoulder, and the guy swiveled around, saying loudly, "Huh?! What?! Want something!?"

"A-Are you waiting for a package?"

The guy wiped his mouth, saying, at a much lower decibel, "Uh, yeah actually. Are you...Do you got the stuff?"

Nitori pulled a box out of his bag, and asked, "Got the money?"

The guy reached into his hoodie and pulled out some dirty money. Nitori looked at it briefly, then said, "That's not enough."

"What do you mean?!" The guy exclaimed, getting loud again.

"It's not enough. You're short."

Holding his hands out, the guy reasoned, "Let me pay this and I'll get you later. Swear."

Nervously, Nitori said, "N-No. Sorry. I can't give you this."

Grabbing the box, the guy attempted to pry it from Nitori's hands and said, "Give me it!"

"N-No! Let go!" Nitori said, struggling to keep possession of the box. Haruka felt his chest tighten and he stepped forward to help Nitori. As he took the first step, everything seemed to slow down as the guy pulled one hand away to reach into his pocket. There was a flash of metal.

_BLAM!_

Nitori collapsed to the ground and the guy took the box, before running off. Haruka stepped forward but the guy pushed him down onto the curb. 

Haruka watched him run for a split second then turned his attention to Nitori.

"Nitori!"

The young man lay on the ground, breathing rapidly. His shirt was soaked red, and blood seeped out from beneath him. Haruka's hands shook and he moved to touch Nitori, but refrained, not wanting to hurt him more. Nitori let out an occasional moan, and Haruka was trying to comfort him and signal for help, simultaneously.

Nitori looked at Haruka, his eyes watering.

"Hey, hey," Haruka said, shakily, "You're okay. You're gonna be okay."

Whipping around, Haruka shouted across the street to a couple, "Get help! P-Please!"

"It...h-hurts..."

* * *

 

Dark. The night sky was dark and empty. The streets were dark except for the flashing police lights. The day was dark.

Haruka sat on the curb, a shock blanket wrapped around him. His hands were blood-stained and red but he didn't look at them. An officer questioned Haruka, but, of course, Haruka didn't know anything to tell him. He described the man and that was it.

Then they put Nitori in a black bag, which caused Haruka to freak out.

And now he sat there.

He heard the combination of engines and saw Sousuke, Kisumi, and Rin pull up.

The three ran over to him, but Haruka didn't budge. Sousuke knelt down beside him, and the other two ran off to the ambulance Nitori's body was in.

Quietly, Sousuke asked, "Are you okay?"

Slowly, Haruka turned to him, his eyebrows knitted in confusion, "What?"

"I asked if you were okay."

"N-No! I'm not  _okay._ I watched Nitori get  _shot_ today and held him as he  _died,_ Sousuke. So no. I'm  _not_ okay," Haruka yelled at Sousuke.

"I didn't mean to mak--"

"Take me home." Haruka interrupted. Sousuke was taken aback by his brusqueness but nodded.

Kisumi and Rin went with the ambulance but Sousuke and Haruka went together. The whole ride back Haruka said nothing, and barely held on to Sousuke. He practically ran inside and into the elevator, and barely made it into their apartment.

Haruka broke down on the floor, tears streaming down his face. Sousuke knelt down, saying, "It's okay, it's okay. Haruka, it's okay."

Sousuke tried to hold him, but Haruka hit his chest, saying, "Why did Nitori die today!?"

"I d-don't know," Sousuke said, "You were with him, not me."

Rolling his eyes, Haruka pushed his hair out of his head and said, "No. What was Nitori doing that he died? I want you to tell me the truth. I want to know everything."

Sousuke sighed, and said, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you this stuff sooner. And I'm sorry that this is the reason I'm telling you. But, basically, I work for Goro, for hire. We do anything he needs us to do and sometimes it's  _not practical._ "

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Sousuke rubbed his face, then answered, "I didn't want you to think I was a bad person or something. I'm not. I've done bad things but I'm not a bad person. And especially not since I met you."

Haruka stood up, and wiped his eyes. Quietly, he said, "I'm gonna go clean myself. And then I'm gonna go to bed. I'm still mad but..."

Raising his eyebrows, Sousuke asked, "But?"

"I want you to hold me tonight. I need you to."

Standing, Sousuke wrapped his arms around Haruka and kissed the top of his head, "Of course. Always."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys. Sorry that it's been forever since I've updated but here it is.
> 
> I've really grown as a writer lately and I'm now equipped to finish this story. I promise to regularly update again and whatnot.
> 
> Also sorry to Nitori. I planned this death since the beginning but I didn't plan all his self realization and aspirations, so sorry to him.
> 
> But thanks for reading guys! Always hit me up with any suggestions or anything.


	21. Little Chats

_Riiing. Riiing. Riiiiiiiing._

"A-Ah!"

The telephone smacked loudly onto the base, Haruka huffing in frustration. Holding his face in his hands, he slid to the floor. It had been two weeks since Nitori died and Haruka was spiraling out of control. The isolation and doubt Haruka had been feeling was pushed over the edge with the trauma of witnessing Nitori's death. _Murder._ Nitori died on the street like an animal. "Death" sounded too peaceful.

Him and Sousuke had been closer than ever,  _physically,_ in the past two weeks, but Haruka felt more alone than ever. Sometimes, Kisumi or Rin would come over to check in on Haruka, but he ignored the knocking until it was gone. 

Sometimes he would just wake up in the middle of the night and pace back and forth for hours, unable to sleep, only accompanied by the empty street below, illuminated by a single light. 

Haruka Nanase thought he was going crazy.

Haruka Nanase thought he was perfectly fine.

One day, he exploded when Sousuke touched him, just a passing brush, but Haruka freaked out. 

As time went on, Haruka felt more and more unlike himself. He was miserable and wanted to leave.

But Sousuke was a source of conflict. Haruka felt distant from Sousuke, even though he still cared deeply about him. And he knew Sousuke cared as he had been going out of his way to comfort Haruka in the past weeks, even though Haruka was not receptive. In the moment, Haruka didn't want Sousuke to comfort him, but wanted the comfort of another.

Naturally, he'd have Makoto to comfort him, but Makoto wasn't around and Haruka missed him terribly. He tried to call his best friend but there was no answer. Every time he called there was no answer. He couldn't help but blame himself.

_Selfish. Reckless. Impulsive. Alone. Guilty._

All of these feelings manifested in Haruka as he realized the irrationality of what he had done. He left his home, his best friend, and even the grimy diner he hated so much, but would trade in an instant if it meant everything going back to normal. But those things existed a hundred years ago, and were long gone.

And for what?

The vision Haruka had, the vision of a fast life filled with passion and laughing and fast nights and thousands of stars had turned out to be just that.  _A vision._

Tears welled in his eyes, threatening to overflow, and he held his face, calling for the only thing he wanted.

"Makoto..."

His eyes began to feel heavy. Heavy like his heart. Heavy like his guilt. Heavy like his life. Heavy. And then he was asleep, curled into a ball on the floor, tears drying on his face. 

When he finally woke, he registered two things. The pain in his neck and the knocking on the door. 

Rolling his eyes, he sighed and curled tighter, content on ignoring it. The knocking didn't cease, and he yelled, voice failing halfway through, "Go away."

"Haruka?"

Sitting up, he rubbed his eyes. The voice was unfamiliar and it took him a minute to register that the voice belonged to Gou, who he barely talked to. That didn't stop him from getting up and walking over to the door. He wasn't close to Gou but he knew that she wasn't close to Sousuke.

For that reason, he wanted to talk to her.

He opened the door, looking out, "Gou?"

The young woman stood in the hallway. She smiled weakly at him, and twisted the tip of her ponytail with her fingers.

"Hey."

Haruka stared at her for a moment, trying to comprehend what she could possibly want.

Gou stuck her arm out, gesturing inside and asked, "May I?"

Nodding, Haruka gestured for her to come inside, where the two made their way to the couch. The two sat in silence for awhile until Gou asked, "How have you been?"

Haruka looked down at the floor, and answered, barely audible, "I've been better..."

Sighing, Gou said, "L-Look. I get that you're having a hard time but I really need your help."

Finally looking at her, Haruka raised an eyebrow, "Help?"

"Well, not so much  _help,_ but...just someone to talk to."

Looking away, Haruka mumbled, "Why don't you talk to your brother?"

Haruka was somewhat irritated that Gou was there. The two barely knew each other and this was their first significant conversation. All Haruka wanted was for her to leave him alone. For Kisumi and Rin to leave him alone. For Sousuke to leave him alone. Just for the world to allow him to shut it all out in peace.

Now Gou looked to the floor, and said, "I can't talk to him about this. O-Or I don't want to."

"What's it about?"

Gou bit her lip, and said, "Ai."

Haruka nodded and the image of Aiichirou dying flashed through his head. It was a shame that death was the strongest memory Haruka had associated with Aiichirou. Not that of a good time, or decent conversation, or anything else.

"W-Well," Haruka said, voice cracking, "What do you want to talk about?"

"I miss him. I miss my best friend," Gou said, very quietly.

A pang shot through Haruka's chest, as the pain of missing a best friend resonated with Haruka deeply, especially at that point in time. He felt more sympathy for her and he turned his body, to face her.

Tentatively, he reached out and rubbed her arm, saying, "I know."

"He shouldn't even have been there," she continued, "He should have just left this horrible city and moved on."

Her eyes welled up with water and tears threatened to spill over her lashes.

"Did you know that?" she continued, "Did you know that Aiichirou was going to quit and leave and start over? Do something and be someone, you know?"

Shaking her head, tears fell from her eyes, glistening as they caught fragments of the sun.

"I'm sorry." Haruka said, before continuing, "I'm sorry how unfair all this is. I'm sorry that you lost your best friend and I'm sorry that Aiichirou never got to see his full potential. This world we lives in sucks. B-But, I don't think you should wallow in this forever. You're young and there'll be more best friends. Don't forget Aiichirou, but don't spend your life being miserable. You  _have_ to go on."

 _If only I could take my own advice,_ Haruka thought.

Gou nodded, tears still streaming down her face, "I understand that. I just miss him."

"Yeah."

Standing, Gou brushed her eyes, then said, "Can I just talk about him for awhile?"

Haruka nodded and Gou began. For almost two hours, Gou talked about Aiichirou. She talked about the way he laughed and how it was absolutely infectious. She talked about how the two could always confide in each other. Or inside jokes like when they would do their best imitations of Sousuke or Rin. She talked about his sweet tooth and how he loved to bake. She talked about his dreams and his ambitions. She talked about  _him_ and for a moment, he was there.

After her spiel about him, the two sat in silence for a long time. Haruka looked out the grimy window, watching the world go on outside the apartment. He looked to the direction he thought was home and imagined it. All of the little buildings and little people.

Eventually, Gou stood, sniffling, "Thanks for listening. This was probably weird but thank you."

Haruka shook his head, denying that he thought it was weird when he really did think it was. But he understood her plight. He understood the self-destructiveness associated with bottling up everything and never telling anyone anything. 

"No problem. Any time."

Gou smiled softly, and nodded. "I'm going to head out, I guess."

Haruka walked with her to the door, and as she left, she whipped around, saying, "Don't tell anyone I was here, please. They'll just worry and bother me."

Nodding, Haruka said, "Trust me, Gou. I've got nobody to tell."

"You have Sousuke."

And then she was gone. Haruka watched her walk away and down the hall, and stared long afterwards. 

He  _did_ have Sousuke, but Sousuke frustrated him so much. He just wanted his boyfriend to be open with him, at the  _least_ and in that moment, Sousuke wasn't. 

 _Maybe he never was,_ Haruka doubted.

Turning back inside, he walked over to the phone, dialing Makoto's number again.

* * *

 "Augh! Can we  _please_ stop?" Nagisa begged.

Nagisa and Rei stood at different tables, scrubbing them until they were pristine. This was their usual chore, to ensure that no leftover drink stains or cigarette ashes or other miscellaneous filth was still on the table before the bar opened in the evenings. It was the same tedious routine every day. Clean the tables, allow them to get filthy, clean the tables, let them accrue dirt, clean the tables, again and again. Yet every time, without fail, Nagisa complained.

Rolling his eyes, Rei huffed, "No we can't. I mean, we literally do this every day and the place is only so big. What's the big deal?"

Nagisa groaned melodramatically and leaned back against the table, pressing a hand against his head, "The big deal is that it's so boring."

Shrugging, Rei stated, "I'm sure you'll be fine."

"I'm sure I won't," Nagisa countered.

Rei looked at him, the corners of his lips slightly upturned, and said, "You're in high spirits, huh?"

Nagisa sat up and smirked, "I guess I am."

"That's good," Rei whistled, "I've been worried about you. You've been out of it."

"You don't need to worry. I don't want to stress you."

"I can't help it."

Raising an eyebrow, Nagisa asked, "Wh-Why?"

Rei turned beet red and looked down, the light causing a glare to form off his glasses. Scratching his neck, he stammered, "Uh, well be-"

Whatever Rei was going to say was interrupted as Makoto barged in through the front entrance, panting. Amakata had called Makoto to visit her in her inner city apartment to discuss something. Rei and Nagisa had never been invited to her apartment.

"S-Sorry." Makoto said, meekly.

"What's with the commotion?" Nagisa asked.

Makoto crossed over to the bar, saying, "Miho wanted me to come down to discuss...business."

Rei looked at Makoto through his glasses and Nagisa caught a whiff of lilac perfume, causing his nose to scrunch. Embarrassed, Makoto continued, "R-Really. Miho said she has people coming in from out of town and we're to help them out or something as best as we can. I'm n-not sure exactly with what though."

Suddenly, Rei turned to Nagisa and said, "Hey, can you go grab me the rest of the cleaning supplies upstairs?"

Nagisa nodded and tore his eyes away from Makoto, stealing one last longing glance, and walked up the stairs. 

Rei closed the distance between him and Makoto and asked, at a much quieter volume, "People? What kind of people?"

"Um, I'm not sure but I think that they're like...uh...b-"

"-bikers?" Rei finished. Rei's stomach dropped and he looked at the stairs. It had been a long long time since anybody needing  _help_ came into town for Amakata, the last time being before Nagisa was even here. And now that he was there, Rei knew that this would be a big  _big_ problem.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Rei sighed, "Damn. Okay, but don't tell Nagisa all the details yet. I have to talk to him first."

Confused, Makoto asked, "Wait why?"

Biting his lip, Rei said, "Don't worry about it."

* * *

 Sousuke, Rin, and Kisumi sat at the bar of  _Domino's._ Not currently doing anything, they were taking what they considered a well-deserved break. The glasses before them were at various levels of filled, and by the smell of their breath, particularly Sousuke's, those weren't their first drinks. It didn't help that drinks were on the house for them either.

Wiping his mouth, Sousuke said, "I mean, I don't understand. Everything I did was to protect Haruka and now he's so mad at me. I've apologized a dozen times and I'm trying to be sensitive or whatever, but what the hell else can I do?"

Rin looked at Kisumi, who said, "Give him time. It's been a rough few weeks, to say the least."

"Okay," Sousuke said, "But how much time?"

Shrugging, Rin said, "You can't rush these things. Just give him time and space."

"B-But that's the thing! He doesn't even want space! Every night he clings to me like I'm magnetic or something, but then he ignores me all day!"

"Sou, we don't know what to tell you," Kisumi apologized. 

The truth of the matter was that Kisumi and Rin thought that Haruka was being perfectly rational given the circumstances. They were on Sousuke's side, but they both believed that he was too close to see the whole picture. Revelations and trauma left a person a little wrecked and it takes time to heal. But Sousuke was the type of person to want to hear one thing or nothing at all, and the two young men knew that, therefore leading to them saying nothing.

"I just think he's being unfair."

"B-But," Rin interjected, "You haven't been the fairest yourself."

Sousuke leered at Rin, brows knitted, then relaxed.

"You're right."

Rin and Kisumi both looked at each other. Their attention was redirected to Sousuke after he slammed his glass on the counter, saying, "Another. Please."

After his drink was refilled, Sousuke asked, "How about you guys?"

"How about us guys what?" Rin asked.

"How's your love lives?" Sousuke continued, "Anything interesting?"

Rin shook his head, clicking his teeth, "No. I'm a lone wolf. Between my life and my sister there's no time for anybody else to squeeze in."

Nodding, Sousuke looked at Kisumi, "You?"

Kisumi looked at the ground, sighing, "No."

Rin and Sousuke looked at each other, before Rin said, "Bullshit."

Kisumi raised an eyebrow, "What the hell does that mean?"

With an exaggerated sigh, Sousuke mocked, "No..."

Narrowing his eyes, Kisumi said, "I don't talk like that."

"Whatever," Sousuke said, "The point is that you've got  _something_ going on and if you don't tell us, I'm gonna beat you up."

"I don't honestly!"

Standing up, Sousuke took a step forward. Throwing up his hands, Kisumi said, "F-Fine!  _Fine._ Sit down at least. The truth is that there's someone I'm interested in and they're not interested back. That's all."

"Awh, dang, Kisumi. That bites," Rin empathized, patting Kisumi on the back.

Shrugging Kisumi said, "Yeah, it's whatever. I'll live."

"Relationships aren't all that," Sousuke frowned, "Nothing but drama and confusion."

Holding up a glass, Rin laughed, "To shitty love lives!"

Over the next few hours, the three continued to hang out at the bar, but Sousuke had consumed an excessive amount of alcohol, now inebriated.

He had his head rested on the counter, somehow sleeping in the loud bar.

"Is he okay?" Rin asked Kisumi, as the two both stared at him.

"He's probably just stressed out."

"What should we do?"

"Leave?"

Rin scowled at Kisumi, and said, "We can't just leave him here."

"Auughh. You're so annoying. Let's take him home then. Tuck him in and kiss him on the forehead."

Rolling his eyes, Rin said, "Let's do that then."

As the three made their way to the door, Sousuke stumbling between them, Kisumi said, "Sousuke? Sou?"

Perking his head up, Sousuke slurred, "Huh? Hm?"

"Drink some water and eat something when you get home, okay?"

Grabbing Kisumi's face and weakly patting it, Sousuke said, "Don't tell me what to do. I'll b-beat you up."

Patting Sousuke's chest, Kisumi said, "I know, Sou. I know."

Rin laughed and said, "This is my favorite Sousuke. Drunk Sousuke who wants to beat you up."

Kisumi stuck his tongue out, hissing, "Whatever. Let's just get him home so we don't have to worry about him."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Awh, thanks for reading y'all! I love writing Ride so so so much and I hope y'all enjoy it.
> 
> Some platonic Sano Boys for you guys! That was the most fun part to write, even though Haruka's is definitely the longest. Also, who's excited that the stories are getting closer and closer to convergence? I sure am!
> 
> Anyway, thanks for reading and I'll update again soon!


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